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REV. JOHN KERSHAW. D.P 



f= ■ Ifi 

HtStorp of tfje iParisfi) atib 
Cfjurcf) of ibatnt jWtcfjael 
Charleston 



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fRje Jkberenb Jofm 2£easf)ato, '23. 23. 

rfr — — 




CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK COPYRIGHTED, 1915, 


vC 


BY REV. JOHN KERSHAW. D.D. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 


EDITION LIMITED TO ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FIVE COPIES. 

NUMBER 



/ 

DEC 20 1915 ^ 


©GI.A416985 



K 


COMPLIMENTS OF 


EDWIN P. FROST 


jforetooriJ 

When it was decided to signalize the one hundred and fiftieth 
anniversary of the opening of the Church for Divine worship, the 
rector was requested to prepare a historical sketch to be delivered on 
that occasion. A sketch was prepared, but not delivered at that time. 
Since then it has been brought to its present form, and is now published 
as a sufficient if not voluminous history of the parish. A member 
of the Vestry, Mr. Edwin P. Frost, on account of his deep interest 
in all that concerns St. Michael's Church, has generously undertaken 
to defray the expenses of publication. 

The sources from which the history has been drawn are chiefly 
Dr. Dalcho's "Church in South Carolina," the Minutes of the Vestry 
from 1759 to the present, and the Journals of our Diocesan Conven- 
tions, and there is no statement of fact in it which has not been veri- 
fied by reference to the original sources. 

The author is much indebted to several friends who have given 
him the benefit of their kindly criticism, to whom he now expresses 
his obligations. That the history may be adjudged as not altogether 
unworthy of its subject is the hope of the author, to whom it has 
been a labor of love. 



History of g>t. jHidjael’S Cijurri) 


)t ^artsil) 


SKETCH of the history of St* Michael's would be 
adequate which did not refer, however briefly, to cer- 
tain events preceding the establishment of the Parish 
and the erection of the Church* 

On the site it occupies, stood from 1681-82, ac- 
cording to Dalcho, the Mother Church of the diocese, 
known as St* Philip's* The building having shown some indica- 
tions of decay — it was a wooden structure — and proving also too 
small for the increasing population of the town, an Act of Assembly 
was passed March 1, 171041, authorizing the erection of a new 
Church, to be built of brick* The site chosen for the new Church 
is the same as that on which the present St* Philip’s stands* Dalcho 
states that it was not completed until 1733, though he is of opinion 
that it began to be used as a place of worship in 1727, that being 
the year in which the original wooden Church, on the site of St* 
Michael's, was taken down* It should be mentioned here that this 
second St* Philip's was burned in the great fire of 1835, so that the 
present building is the third which has borne the name* 

From that time until 1751, the site of the original St* Philip's 
was vacant* On June 14 of that year the General Assembly passed 
an Act dividing St* Philip's Parish, and establishing “another in the 
said town by the name of the Parish of St* Michael, and for appoint- 
ing Commissioners for the building of a Church and Parsonage 
House in the said Parish*" By the Church Act of 1706, establish- 
ing by law the Church of England in the Province of South Caro- 
lina, it was enacted “That Charles-Town, and the neck between 
Cooper and Ashley River, as far up the neck as the plantation of 

5 



HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


John Bird, Gent, on Cooper River, inclusive, and the plantation of 
Christopher Smith, Esq*, on Ashley River, inclusive, is and shall for- 
ever be a distinct Parish of itself, and be called by the name of the 
Parish of St* Philip's in Charles-Town*" The Act of June 14, 1751, 
has this preamble: “Whereas, the inhabitants of the Parish of St* 
Philip, Charles-Town, are become so numerous (and being daily in- 
creasing) that it is absolutely necessary to divide the said Parish: 
And the present Church being insufficient for accommodating the 
said inhabitants, many families (professors of the Church of Eng- 
land) in the said town, are deprived of the benefit of attending divine 
service for want of seats in the said Church: For remedying which 
evil. Be it enacted, &c*: That the Parish of St* Philip, Charles- 
Town, shall be divided in the following manner, (that is to say) All 
that part of Charles-Town situate and being to the southward of the 
middle of Broad Street in the said town, shall be and is hereby de- 
clared to be a distinct Parish by itself and separate from the other 
part of the Parish of St* Philip: and shall hereafter be called and 
known by the name of the Parish of St* Michael**' The Act went 
on to provide: “That the Church of the said Parish of St* Michael 
shall be built on or near the place where the old Church of St* Philip, 
Charles-Town, formerly stood*" Further provisions of the Act 
fixed the salary of the Rector or Minister at £150 Proclamation 
Money: appointed as Commissioners for building the Church and 
Parsonage House, and for receiving subscriptions for the same, the 
Hon* Charles Pinckney, Messrs* Alexander Vanderdussen, Edward 
Fenwick, William Bull, jun*, Andrew Rutledge, Isaac Mazyck, Ben- 
jamin Smith, Jordan Roche and James Irving: provided that a pew 
be set apart for the Governor and Council: two large pews for the 
members of the Assembly, and another large pew for strangers: the 
rest to be equal in size, and the person who shall have contributed 
most toward the building of the Church to have the first choice of 
the pews: providing further, that no person should own a pew in 
each Church (St* Philip's and St* Michael's) except he owns a house 
in each Parish: and, finally: “That it shall and may be lawful for 
the inhabitants of the said Parishes (St* Philip's and St* Michael's) 
to bury their dead in the churchyard of the other Parish, any usage 
or custom to the contrary notwithstanding*" 


6 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


)t CfjurcJ) 


Commissioners thus appointed lost no time in carrying out 
the provisions of the Act relating to the erection of the Church* 
Everything being in readiness. Governor Edward Glen laid 
the corner-stone 17 February, J752, but the Church was not completed 
until nine years later* 

Doctor Dalcho thus describes the building: “St* Michael's 
Church stands upon the site of the old St* Philip’s Church, at the 
S* E* corner of Broad and Meeting Streets* It is built of brick, and 
is rough-cast* The extreme length of the building is 130 feet, and 

60 feet wide* The nave is 74 feet long, the chancel 10, the vesti- 

bule, inside, 22, and the portico 16* It contains 93 pews on the ground 
floor, the middle aisle across the Church having lately been built up 
with eight new pews; and 45 in the galleries* The chancel is hand- 
some, and is ornamented in a neat and appropriate manner* It is a 
pannelled wainscot, with four Corinthian pilasters supporting the 
proper cornice* The usual Tables of the Decalogue, Lord's Prayer, 
and Apostles' Creed, are placed between them* The galleries are 

supported by twelve Ionic pillars* The pulpit and reading desk 

stand at the east end of the Church, at the S* E* corner of the middle 
aisle* At the west end of the Church, near the middle door, stands 
a handsome marble font, of an oval form* The ceiling is flat, orna- 
mented with a rich cornice, which runs nearly parallel with the front 
of the galleries and chancel* A large, handsome brass chandelier is 
suspended from the center* The outside of the Church is adorned 
with Doric pilasters continued round the building, and a parapet wall 
extends along the N* and S* sides of the roof* Between the pilasters 
are a double row of arched windows on each side, the upper less in 
height than the lower; the steeple is 168 feet high, and is acknowl- 
edged to be the handsomest in America, and, probably, is not ex- 
ceeded by any in London, for the lightness of its architecture, the 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

chasteness of its ornaments, and the symmetry of its parts* It is com- 
posed of a tower and spire* The tower is square from the ground, 
and rises to a considerable height* The principal decoration of the 
lower part is a beautiful portico with four Doric columns, supporting 
a large angular pediment, with a Modillion cornice* Over this rises 
two rustic courses ; in the lower are small rounded sashed windows 
on the north and south sides, and, in the second course, are small 
square windows on each side* From this course the steeple rises 
octagonal, having windows with Venetian blinds on each face, with 
Ionic pilasters between each, whose cornice supports a balustrade* 
Within this course is the belfry, in which is a ring of eight bells* The 
next course is likewise octagonal, but somewhat smaller than the 
lower, rising from within the balustrade* It has lofty sashed win- 
dows alternately on each face, with pilasters and a cornice* Here 
is the clock, with dial plates on the cardinal sides* Upon this course 
rises, on a smaller octagonal base, a range of Corinthian pillars, with 
a balustrade connecting them; the center of the arches is ornamented 
with sculptured heads in relief* From hence is a beautiful and ex- 
tensive prospect over the town and harbour, and for many miles 
over the neighboring country and ocean* The body of the steeple 
is carried up octagonal within the pillars, on whose entablature a 
fluted spire rises* This is terminated by a globe 3 feet 6^ inches 
in diameter, supporting a vane 7 feet 6 inches long* The height of 
this steeple makes it the principal landmark for the pilots* (Dalcho, 
pp* 184-186*) 

Dr* Dalcho says (p* 187) that the cost of the Church was, in 
dollars, $32,775*37* He adds: “This, apparently, is small; but we 
must take into consideration that everything since that time has ad- 
vanced double or triple in value/’ 

The Church being thus completed and in readiness, on the first 
day of February, 1761, being a Sunday, the fourth after the Epiphany, 
the first regular service was held in the Church by the Reverend 
Robert Cooper, who had been assistant at St* Philip's, but who re- 
signed to accept the charge of St* Michael's that very day* We learn 
from an entry made in the family Bible of the Hon* Robert Pringle 
that Mr* Cooper preached a sermon suitable to the occasion to a 
crowded congregation* This gentleman and the Hon* David Deas 


8 



ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 





HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

were the wardens at that time* Thus it was that St ♦ Michael's en- 
tered upon its career* The first vestry and wardens of the Church 
were elected in 1759* The wardens were, as stated, the Hon* Robert 
Pringle and the Hon* David Deas* The vestrymen were William 
Roper, Charles Pinckney, George Milligen, and Robert Brewton* 
Benjamin Smith, Esqr*, chosen as one of the Vestry, “refused to 
qualify*" “David Deas having been elected both as Warden and 
Vestryman, made his election to serve as Church Warden*" This 
necessitated the election of two Vestrymen, and on Monday, 28 May, 

1759, Messrs* George Austin and John Guerard were elected to fill 
the vacancies* 

They were required, under the law, to subscribe what was 
known as “the Test," which reads as follows: “We, the Vestry and 
Church Wardens of the Parish of St* Michael's, Charles-Town, 
whose names are hereunder written, do declare that we do believe 
there is not any Transubstantiation in the Sacrament of the Lord’s 
Supper or in the elements of Bread and Wine at or after the conse- 
cration thereof by any person whatever*" 

The signatures of the members of St* Michael's first vestry are 
subscribed to this declaration on the first page of the original Minute 
Book of the Vestry, and this custom was continuously observed until 
the setting up of the State government after the Revolution* The 
first year of its omission was 1783, when the oath of office was 
changed to read thus: “We do solemnly swear that we will, to the 
best of our knowledge, faithfully discharge the duty of the Vestry and 
Church Wardens in us vested, and faithfully conform to and strictly 
observe the laws of South Carolina and the Acts of Assembly as 
established by the Constitution, and that we will, to the best of our 
skill and power, with justice discharge the duties of the said places 
of trust*" This oath differs but little in substance from that taken 
annually by the Vestry and Church Wardens of St* Michael's at the 
present time* 

The first distribution of the pews in St* Michael's was made in 

1760, and the names of the original pewholders are recorded in the 
old Vestry Book before referred to* It is interesting to note that while 
many of these surnames have disappeared from the records of the 
Church and the directories of the City, an appreciable proportion of 
them still survives in the membership of St* Michael's as evidence of 
the family's attachment to it from generation to generation* 

9 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


Carlp (Sifts 




'OVERNOR THOMAS BOONE, in 1762, we learn from 
the same source, presented to the Church, “a service of Altar 
Plate, consisting of two flagons, a chalice and cover, and a 
large dish/' No mention is made of patens, but the two pieces we 
still have, one a flagon and the other a paten, are each inscribed: 
“The gift of his Excellency Thomas Boone, Esqr*, Governor of this 
Province, To the Church of St* Michael, Charles Town, So* Caro- 
lina, 1762/' Richard Lambton, Esqr*, presented a Prayer Book, and 
Jacob Motte, Esqr*, a Bible and two Prayer Books about the same 
date, and the next year the Hon* Edward Fenwick presented crimson 
velvet coverings and curtains, trimmed with gold lace, for the com- 
munion table, and Mr* Motte in 1764 furnished it with damask table- 
cloths and napkins* The same year two plates for collecting the alms 
were given by George Somers, Esqr* The font was placed on 
Christmas Eve, 1771, a purchase made in England by the Vestry* 
These completed for a time the Church's furnishings* The bells and 
clock came in 1764, and the Sneteler organ in 1768* Other gifts 
were afterwards added, to which reference will be made in due course* 


10 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


tEfje 3Pre=Eeboluttonarp $ertofc 

)t OTJorfemett anb ®betr OTIorfe 


/HE REV* MR* COOPER continued to discharge his duties 
unassisted for several years, but in 1764 the Vestry decided to 
give him an assistant, in view of the growth of the parish and 
the increasing demands upon their rector's time and attention* With 
this object in view, they entered into correspondence with the Rev* 
Samuel Hart, then recently come to this country from England, and 
on his way to his post, under appointment of the Lord Bishop of 
London, to whom was assigned jurisdiction over the Church of Eng- 
land in the American Colonies* Accordingly, in 1765, the Rev* Mr* 
Hart came from Mobile (spelled Mobeille) as assistant minister* In 
the correspondence that took place between the Vestry and Mr* Hart, 
it is evident that he wanted to come, but he said he felt in honor bound 
to go down to Pensacola and Mobile where he was “destined to stay 
for twelve months," but as he had heard that there was a clergyman 
to the regiment at Mobile, and Governor Johnson was his particular 
friend, he had good reason to believe that matters would be arranged 
so that he could return here on earliest notice* That was in Novem- 
ber* The June following he was here, matters having been arranged, 
no doubt, by his particular friend. Gov* Johnson* He resigned five 
years later* In the churchyard is a stone with an inscription record- 
ing the deaths of two of his children, the elder being three years old* 
He himself died in St* Johns, Berkeley, in 1779* We have no in- 
formation that would enable us to form an estimate of Mr* Hart's 
character and qualifications* He is one of the many who have 
passed away, leaving but a name, or perhaps as in his case, a stone, 
telling its story of bereavement* 

In 1770, Dec* 19, came the Reverend John Bullman as assistant 
to Mr* Cooper* He served the Church in that capacity until 1774* 
The people of this and every other British colony in America were 

11 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

at that time in a state of great political excitement* Troubles with 
the mother country had reached the acute stage and much dissension 
prevailed, many advocating the establishment of a republic, while 
many others were firm in their loyalty to the English Crown* It 
was at this unfortunate juncture that Mr* Bullman delivered a ser- 
mon which gave “great offence and exasperated many of the inhabi- 
tants of the parish, who threatened a desertion of, and indignities to, 
the Church*” The Vestry met to consider the subject, and sent to ask 
Mr* Bullman for a copy of his sermon* He did not send it, but came 
in person, and allowed an extract to be made* The sermon was on 
the duty of peace-making, but the reverend gentleman took occasion 
to say that “it is highly requisite that we avoid pragmaticalness ; that 
is, the needless intruding ourselves to meddle with and pass our cen- 
sures upon other men's business*” He went on to say that “the in- 
dulgence of this spirit had led men on to pronounce their opinions 
boldly of the greatest mysteries of religion, of the most deliberate actions 
of the State, of the greatest secrets of war and peace, of the fitness 
or unfitness of all persons in power and authority* Hence, also, every 
silly clown and illiterate mechanic will undertake to censure the con- 
duct of his Prince or Governor, and contribute to create and foment 
those misunderstandings which being brooded by discontent, and dif- 
fused through great multitudes, come at last to end in schism in the 
Church, and sedition and rebellion in the State*” 

The Vestry remonstrated with Mr* Bullman, but he declined to 
give any satisfaction, declared that he would not be dictated to by 
Vestry or Parishioners, and if they disapproved of his principles or 
conduct he was ready to leave the parish immediately* A meeting 
of the parishioners was called and a vote taken* Out of seventy-five 
who voted, forty-two disapproved, and thirty-three approved, of Mr* 
Bullman's conduct* This vote, as Dalcho remarks, shows the spirit 
and feeling of the times* Mr* Bullman then severed his connection 
with the Church* His recall was urged by some of the congregation, 
but the Vestry declined to do so, and Mr* Bullman finally sailed for 
England, in March, J 775, having been previously presented with a 
handsome testimonial in cash from a considerable number (41) of 
St* Michael's parishioners, while eighty of them signed a letter refer- 
ring in the most affectionate and complimentary terms to his charac- 


12 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

ter and conduct as a man and a clergyman* We have no information 
as to his future career* 

Fifteen months later* early on a Sunday morning* the Vestry 
was convened in consequence of information* officially communicated* 
to the effect that the Rev* Mr* Cooper had refused to take the oath 
required by law* which involved abjuring allegiance to the British 
Crown; The Vestry directed the service suspended for that day* and 
called a meeting of parishioners for July 2* Mr* Cooper declined to 
attend this meeting* declaring that he looked upon himself as already 
dismissed from the parish* Thereupon the parishioners declared the 
rectorship vacant* and the Vestry were directed to procure a successor* 
Mr* Cooper went to England soon after* where he received a pension 
as a loyalist* Ultimately he became rector of St* Michael's, Cornhill* 
and died about 1812 or 1813, upwards of eighty years of age* 


13 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


)t oluti o nary $ertob 

Confusions anb ®tssensions 


O ONE who reads the history of those troublous times can fail 
Jibr to perceive the stress and strain they put upon our people* 
Resenting as they did the establishment of the Church of Eng- 
land by law, whereby all other religious bodies were simply ignored, 
the representatives of dissent, after South Carolina had declared 
itself a State, were clamoring for the abolition of the establishment, 
while many churchmen supported them in their contention, though it 
is also true that all the leaders who promoted the Revolution were 
churchmen, as McCrady points out in his history* It is well known 
that among churchmen very serious, and even irreconcilable political 
differences existed, which were reflected in the many agitated dis- 
cussions of the period* Estrangements between former friends and 
fellow-worshippers resulted in a loss of interest in Church affairs, 
while many others were in the service of their country, and those who 
remained at home, feeling the tension of the times and sharing the 
increasing anxieties that a state of war always imposes, left the direc- 
tion of the Church's business in the hands of a few, whose devotion 
kept it alive in the face of indifference and opposition* The circum- 
stances attending the withdrawal of Mr* Bullman and, afterwards, 
of Mr* Cooper, show how far short of being united the congregation 
was, and, doubtless, this had its considerable effect upon the general 
situation* The Vestry invited the Rev* John Lewis of St* Paul's, Col- 
leton, and afterwards Rev* Edward Ellington, of St* James, Goose 
Creek, to the rectorship of St* Michael's, but they both declined* In 
this we may clearly perceive the effects of internal dissension, which, 
together with the result of the transference to the South of British 
activity, and the energetic campaign instituted by them along this 
coast and further to the southward, prevented the securing of a regular 
rector for the Church for several years* It is interesting to note how 


14 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

many of the clergy of that day were loyal to England* In a list of 
clergymen, published by Dr* Dalcho, who came into the Province 
from the year 1660 on to the year 1819, we find no fewer than seven 
clergymen leaving the Province during the Revolutionary period, a 
fact doubtless due to a conscientious conviction on their part that 
loyalty to the English Church required of them like loyalty to the 
English Crown* In this emergency, as we learn from the Vestry's 
minutes of that period, the Church's services were somewhat inter- 
rupted* 

Clergy from neighboring parishes supplied St* Michael's from 
time to time during the next two years, when, after great difficulty 
in securing a rector, the Reverend Charles Frederick Moreau took 
charge* This gentleman was one of those who had given St* Mich- 
ael’s an occasional service during the vacancy caused by Mr* Cooper's 
removal* Becoming the virtual rector in 1778, though he is not so 
termed in the Minutes of the Vestry, he served the Church until Aug* 
2, 1783, when the Reverend Henry Purcell was invited to become 
rector* It seems that Mr* Moreau's salary had not all been paid* Mr* 
Moreau, in a letter to the Vestry, drew attention to that fact, and said 
he thought “dismission and payment would have gone hand in hand*" 
The Vestry said in reply that they would pay him up to the time of 
the surrender of the City to the British, say May 12, 1780* Mean- 
time, “by order of the Commandant," July 2, 1781, an election for 
Vestrymen and Wardens was held, and the Reverend Edward Jen- 
kins was called and accepted, taking charge July 29* Dr* Jenkins left 
the Church when the British evacuated the City, 14 December, 1782* 
Just prior to that event, considerable anxiety was felt by the Vestry 
as to the possible fate of the Church plate, when the victorious patriots 
should have come into possession of the city* Dr* Jenkins recom- 
mended that Edward Lightwood should take charge of the silver, but 
that it should be done with the consent of the executive authority* 
Mr* Edward Legge took the silver, under a flag (of truce), went to 
Mr* Izard's plantation on Ashley River, saw Governor Mathews, ob- 
tained his consent, and turned over the silver to Mr* Lightwood, who 
duly receipted for it — “seven pieces" — and also the old Vestry book, 
which, I may say, is the ultimate authority for all, or nearly all, that 
is stated here, certainly up to 1829* Dalcho states that Mr* Moreau 
died in 1784* 15 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


When the British fleet appeared off the bar in 1780, St* Michael's 
steeple, which had served as a mariner's beacon, was painted black, 
under the impression that it would be a less conspicuous mark than 
when it was white* The British declared, however, that this de- 
vice had the exactly contrary effect to that intended, and drew atten- 
tion to it as never before* In this steeple, we are told by McCrady, 
Peter Timothy took his post, as in a watch tower, and made his ob- 
servations and notes of the movements of the British fleet in the offing 
and of their army on James Island, just as in the great struggle be- 
tween the North and the South, 1861-65, the steeple was again used 
as a signal station by the Confederates* From this post he could 
see the gathering of the British forces and the arrival of reinforce- 
ments under Patterson* With his spyglass he could see Lord Corn- 
wallis and a Hessian general viewing the works they were erecting 
at Wappoo, and distinguished the Tories with them by their costumes* 
During the siege a battery was planted on James Island, and played 
constantly on the town from a distance of little more than a mile* 
A shot from this battery, April 16th, struck St* Michael's steeple a 
glancing blow, and in falling carried off an arm of the statue of Pitt, 
then standing in the middle of the street, at the intersection of Broad 
and Meeting* Later, when the City surrendered and the arms of the 
Americans were being stored, many of them loaded, being thrown 
carelessly into the warehouse, where were about four thousand pounds 
of fixed ammunition, some of the loaded guns were discharged, set- 
ting fire to the powder* A great explosion occurred* General Moul- 
trie was under arrest in a house adjoining St* Michael’s Church when 
the explosion occurred, threatening a conflagration* An officer 
present accused “the rebels," as he termed them, of having purposely 
caused the explosion and consequent fire, and observed that if the 
great magazine should explode, where upwards of a hundred thousand 
pounds of powder were stored, they would all be blown into eternity 
together* To this Moultrie assented, but fortunately the fire was ex- 
tinguished before it reached the magazine, and the British officer's 
gloomy prophecy failed of fulfilment* How the affairs of the Church 
went on from this time until the close of the war may be inferred 
from the statement on a preceding page that an election for Vestry- 
men and Wardens was held by order of the British Commandant in 


16 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


1781, when Dr* Jenkins was called to assume the rectorship* When 
the Americans re-entered the City after the evacuation, the Church 
was without a rector. Dr* Jenkins having left it when the British fleet 
sailed away* Services, however, were immediately resumed, for the 
Reverend Dr* Henry Purcell, the war chaplain of the Second South 
Carolina Regiment (Moultrie's) and Deputy Judge- Advocate General 
for South Carolina and Georgia, officiated at St* Michael's, after the 
evacuation, probably immediately after, because when elected rector 
April 2, 1784, the Vestry allowed him his salary from Dec* 14, 1782, 
when the British forces left* 


17 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


tEije = &eboluttonar p iPertoti 

©r. Purcell, jfyisi Successors antr ®fjetr Assistants 


"57T%R* PURCELL continued rector until 1802 , when he died* He 
jJ.Fl represented the Church in South Carolina in the General Con- 
vention of 1785, and again in 1795, the Convention during 
which the Reverend Robert Smith, Bishop-elect of South Carolina, 
was consecrated as our first Bishop* Dr* Purcell was evidently a 
man of force and influence in the community, but the data we have 
are unfortunately insufficient on which to base a full or fair estimate 
of his personality and the services he rendered the Church* The 
Rev* Thomas Gates became co-rector with Dr* Purcell in 1790 
(March 19) and served until 1796 (October 25), when the Rev* Dr* 
Jenkins, who had been in charge during the British occupation, be- 
came associate rector until Dr* Purcell's death, when he continued 
in charge as rector until 1804 (December 17), resigning to become rec- 
tor of St* Philip’s* Three days later he was elected to succeed Bishop 
Smith as our second Bishop, but he declined the honor on the ground 
of advanced age* After he died, in 1821, his friends here, by leave 
of the Vestry, erected the tablet to the left of the chancel, on which 
are recorded his ability as a preacher, his assiduity as a parochial 
priest, his candour, probity and benevolence, his exemplary, pious and 
moral conduct, graced with the acquirements of the scholar and pol- 
ished manners of the gentleman* He died in Wales, the land of his 
birth* He served St* Philip's until he left for his old home in 1807* 
There is one notable fact in connection with Dr* Purcell's rector- 
ship* In the Vestry's minutes we find the entry that Dr* Purcell was 
recognized as a member of the Vestry by virtue of his office, in ac- 
cordance with the resolution of the Vestry adopted 23 December, 1768* 
We find in the minutes frequent references to Dr* Purcell's meeting 
with the Vestry, but there are none such with regard to any other 
previous rector, nor for many years afterwards* Still, this is a prin- 

18 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

ciple thus early recognized which has not even yet been recognized 
by some of the churches, especially those organized in the colonial 
period* 

The Reverend Nathaniel Bowen, who had been assistant min- 
ister at St* Michael's during Dr* Jenkins’ rectorship now became rec- 
tor* The Reverend 'William Percy became assistant at both St* 
Michael's and St* Philip's, and so continued until 1809* Mr*, after- 
wards Dr* Bowen, was rector for five years* He was also Secretary 
of the Convention, as we learn from the Journal of 1810, in which 
is an expression of thanks for his services and of regret at his removal 
from the State to the loss of the Church in South Carolina* A service 
of plate was presented to him by the Vestry, in testimony of their 
affection and grateful sense of his meritorious labours* While the 
materials are lacking for a complete record of his services, it is evi- 
dent that the Church gave him up with real regret, for they recalled 
him at the first opportunity* Dr* Bowen was recalled as rector in 
1818, a few months after Bishop Dehon's death, and a few days 
after his own election as third Bishop of this Diocese* It may as well 
be explained here that the reason why our earlier bishops were also 
rectors of churches, was that only so could they be supported, there 
being no permanent fund, as later, for their support, and the churches 
being too small in number and weak in resources to furnish an ade- 
quate support* Hence, Bishop Smith continued to be rector of St* 
Philip's after his elevation to the Episcopate, and Bishops Dehon and 
Bowen remained also rectors of St* Michael's* The tablet on the 
north wall of the Church erected to Bishop Bowen says he was 
revered in his Diocese for gravity and wisdom; he was endeared to 
his congregation by benevolence and piety* This Church was edi- 
fied by his pastoral care, and saw him adorn the episcopal office with 
dignity* His remains, and those of Bishop Dehon, rest under the 
altar in this Church* 

The Reverend Theodore Dehon in July, 1807, succeeded Dr* 
Bowen in the rectorship, in which he continued for eight years, dying 
of yellow fever at the early age of forty-one years* Under him the 
Church prospered in every way* He was one of the founders, and 
the first president of the Venerable Advancement Society, still in active 
existence* So profoundly impressed were the clergy and laity alike 

19 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

by Mr* Dehon's character and zeal, that in 1 812 the Convention 
elected him Bishop, in which office he served for five years* The 
expressions of sorrow that followed upon his death and the tributes 
that then were paid, reveal the esteem and honour in which he was 
held* They came from the Advancement Society, from a Committee 
of our Vestry, from the Standing Committee of the Diocese, from the 
Diocesan Convention, from the Vestry and Wardens of St* John's 
Lutheran Church in this City, and from other sources* They are 
too long to quote here, but they may be found in Dalcho* His 
literary remains were considerable* Two volumes of sermons are 
the best known of these* By request. Dr* Gadsden, rector of St* 
Philip's delivered a memorial discourse upon his life and labors, and 
the Vestry erected the tablet on the east wall, to the right of the chan- 
cel, “a grateful tribute to departed worth*" That which signalized 
Bishop Dehon's Episcopate in particular was that he was the first to 
administer the apostolic rite of Confirmation in this Diocese* There 
is in the South Carolina Historical Society a pamphlet published by 
the Rev* Andrew B* Fowler, then rector of Trinity Church, Edisto 
Island, in which it is said that Bishop Dehon’s first comfirmation was 
administered in that Church March 30, 1813* Mr* Fowler adds that 
the first confirmation at St* Michael's occurred August 4, 1813, and the 
first at St* Philip's two days later* Dalcho, however, says: “In 1813 
the holy and apostolic rite of Confirmation was administered for the first 
time in Carolina, at St* Michael's Church, to a considerable number of 
persons, among whom were many advanced in years*" Dr* Dalcho 
was then acting assistant at St* Michael's* Bishop Dehon also first 
among the Bishops of this Diocese, introduced the custom of making an 
annual address to the Diocesan Convention, in accordance with the 
canon of the General Convention* This address is intended to be a gen- 
eral review of the condition of the Diocese and a statement of the Bish- 
op's acts during the year* The Bishop's addresses are models of brev- 
ity and clarity* 

At his lamented death, as has been said. Dr* Bowen succeeded, 
having been consecrated as Bishop October 18, 1818* He continued as 
Bishop and rector until 1839, when he also died* His assistants dur- 
ing that period were the Rev* Mr* Dalcho, and the Rev* W* W* Spear* 
We have already alluded to Bishop Bowen's record, but it remains 


20 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

to add that he left his impress not only upon St* Michael's, but also 
upon the Diocese* He was a wise master-builder, conservative in his 
views, but strong in his convictions, and unsparing of himself in 
travelling by stage-coach, boat and private conveyance, to visit the 
churches and administer confirmation* His chief literary remains, 
as in the case of Bishop Dehon, are two volumes of sermons on doc- 
trine and duty, characterized by a pure style, deep learning and fervent 
piety* Never a robust man, it speaks loudly in his praise that with 
the care of all the churches upon him, with the cares and anxieties 
attendant upon his own parochial work, and under the pressure of 
repeated and bitter personal affliction in the loss of children. Dr* Bowen 
should have accomplished all that he did* If not the first he was 
among the first of our Bishops to advocate the establishment of sem- 
inaries in which Christian instruction should be inseparably connected 
with secular, under the care of members of our own Church — an idea 
that has recently been carried out, essentially, at several of the larger 
seats of learning* St* Stephen's Chapel, Anson Street, was founded 
by his exertions* The first of the kind in the United States, it was 
designed to be “a chapel for the poor, with a Society to support a min- 
ister for it, and to visit pastorally, not only the worshippers in it, but 
other poor*'’ Dr*, afterward Bishop Gadsden, by request of our Ves- 
try, paid a just and beautiful tribute to the deceased prelate, which 
may be found as an appendix to the Journal of Convention, 1839* 

His assistant. Dr* Dalcho, doctor of medicine, not divinity, was a 
remarkable man in many respects* His “Church in South Carolina," 
a history brought down to the year 1819, is the source to which all 
resort for information concerning the Church's early history in South 
Carolina* The loss of records, by many of the older parishes, throws 
us back on Dalcho for what we seek to know respecting their begin- 
nings* His list of clergymen who came into the Province from 1660 
down to his own time, is the only one there is, while his treatise on 
the Church of England, to be found in the same volume, for brevity, 
clearness and convincingness, has been surpassed by none* He has 
done the Church in South Carolina an inestimable service through 
this book, now very rare* 

Dr* Dalcho was also a very learned member of the Masonic fra- 
ternity* His “Aiiiman Rezon," or book of Masonic constitutions, is 

21 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


still an authority with the craft* The stone near the southwest door 
was erected by the Vestry first in the churchyard, but later removed 
to its present place* Tradition relates that this was due to a great 
antagonism to Masonry developed about the time of Dr* Dalcho's 
death in 1836* A man named Morgan had then recently published 
an exposure of Masonic secrets, signs, grips and passwords* Shortly 
after, he is alleged to have mysteriously disappeared, and the Masons 
were charged with the crime of murdering him* The furor against 
them swept all over the country, and was felt here as elsewhere* Be- 
cause of it, it is said, the stone instead of being placed as a mural tablet, 
was erected over the Doctor's grave, but when the storm blew over, 
the Vestry had it taken up and placed within the Church* Dr* Dalcho 
served this Church altogether nearly twenty years, with faithfulness, 
tact and true devotion* 

The Rev* W* W* Spear, who had served as assistant minister 
since 1835, was elected rector on the death of Bishop Bowen* He 
served as such only one year, and resigned to become rector of “a new 
church in Philadelphia*" He lived to a very advanced age, dying only 
a few years ago; certainly after 1895* 


22 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


)t <Pertob of €xpanston, of JWtsfgtonarp 
glctttntp, anb ^>ptcttual ^otoer 


«^ROM an early period in its history, St* Michael's had shown 
|j marked missionary interest* The earlier numbers of the “Spirit 
^ of Missions,'' our Church's missionary organ, from 1835, con- 
tain lists of contributions from the parishes for work in foreign fields, 
from which the name of St* Michael's was seldom missing* It was 
a time when the American Church showed evidences of a great spir- 
itual awakening, expressed by increased interest in and support of 
the effort for the extension of Christianity throughout the world* 
This idea was embodied in the declaration of our General Conven- 
tion emphasizing the fact that every baptized person was, by virtue 
of their baptism, a member of the Church's Missionary Society, and 
thereby pledged to the support of the one great mission of the Church 
of Christ, viz*: the conversion of the world to Him* Locally, a great 
impetus was given to this view of the Church's mission by a remark- 
able revival of religious interest which resulted from the work of a 
Presbyterian minister, the Rev* Daniel Baker, who held in the tide- 
water portion of the State, in 1831-32, a series of services that were 
singularly blessed in the conversion of souls* Of these services and 
their effects, particularly in Beaufort, the late Rev* Charles Cotesworth 
Pinckney, for so long rector of Grace Church in this City, from per- 
sonal knowledge and experience testifies in an address delivered in 
St* Helena Church, Beaufort, June 9, 1880, on the occasion of the 
unveiling of a mural tablet in memory of its rector for fifty-five 
years, the Rev* Joseph R* Walker* He said: “It is hardly possible 
to convey to you any just conception of the force of that mighty tidal 
wave which swept over this portion of the State forty-eight years ago* 
This generation can never realize the depth and breadth and volume 
of that mighty current* It completely changed the moral and spiritual 
aspect of society* It lifted up entire communities on its bosom, raised 

23 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

them to a higher level, and swept them simultaneously, men, women 
and children, into the ark of the Church* It arrested the ordinary 
avocations of life, so that men left the office and the shop, and flocked 
to the religious assemblies as Moves to their windows/ They thirsted 
for the Word of God, and that "Word came with power' to the con- 
science* The sinner forsook his sins and sought the grace of God* 
The infidel believed in Jesus, and the scoffer began to pray* The duel- 
ist threw his pistols into the river* The gambler closed his den* The 
Pharisee 'smote upon his breast/ and cried, like the Publican, for 
'mercy/ Business, pleasure. Mammon, elections, all were forgotten 
for the time; old political feuds were buried forever, and bitter enemies 
grasped each other's hands with gladness*" Speaking of its effects 
upon the life of the Diocese, Dr* Pinckney said: "It sent ten men at 
once to preach the Gospel, among whom were Stephen Elliott, that 
princely man, so richly endowed with personal, intellectual and moral 
gifts, by which he adorned the Episcopate of Georgia; and Boone, the 
active, devoted and wise Missionary Bishop, to China* It sent to 
Charleston William Barnwell (rector St* Peters Church, Logan 
Street), whose ardent life rekindled the fires upon our altars, and 
taught men to live for God, and for the Gospel of His Grace* It re- 
vealed to James H* Fowler the depths of human depravity, and sent 
him forth, like John the Baptist, to convince the world of sin* It has 
sent thirty laborers into the vineyard from this Church alone* The 
list includes six Elliotts and six Barnwells, and many other faithful 
men who still keep alive the sacred flame which the grace of God en- 
kindled there*" 

The present writer, with Dr* Pinckney's valuable assistance, 
compiled a list of clergymen from families belonging to St* Helena 
Church, Beaufort, during Dr* Walker's ministry* Up to 1882 there 
were thirty-seven* The late Dr* Lucius Cuthbert also recalled the 
names of eleven Beaufort men who in that period had entered the 
ministry of the Baptist Church* Two others that the present writer 
knows of have since entered our ministry, and this from a community 
the permanent white population of which at no time exceeded a 
thousand! 

Dr* Pinckney adds: "The missionary zeal of the congregation 
was wonderfully stimulated* For several years this Church — St* 

24 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

Helena, Beaufort — stood first or second on the list of contributors to 
missions* In one year they gave $1,800 to foreign missions* In pro- 
portion to the number of communicants, it was the largest donor to 
missions in the Episcopal Church in America*” 

It was the impetus of this remarkable movement that communi- 
cated to other congregations a deeper interest in missions, and inspired 
pastors and people to greater personal devotion and service* Among 
these were St* Michael's* The clergy urged the duty of supporting 
the weak, and helping the struggling parishes in the Diocese and be- 
yond its borders* They kept before their people the memory of the 
labors of Bishop Boone in China, a son of South Carolina, and a pro- 
duct of the Beaufort revival, and the people responded in becoming 
manner* Nor has the congregation ever ceased to feel the impulse 
of this deepening of interest* Today it is still one of the largest con- 
tributors to missions. Diocesan and general, in the Diocese; it still 
feels and meets its obligations to do its part towards the evangelization 
of the world* To resume the history of the parish: 

The Rev* Paul Trapier now (1840) became rector, with the Rev- 
erend Paul Trapier Keith as assistant minister* The reports made 
to the Diocesan Convention at this period show that under Mr* Tra- 
pier missionary interest became greatly developed, and under Mr* 
Keith, who succeeded him, it reached proportions never attained be- 
fore or since, while parochial interest and activity also reached high- 
water mark* While Mr* Trapier was rector (1840-46) he took the 
position in a sermon which he preached that he would admit to the 
holy communion such only as had been confirmed or were ready and 
desirous of being* A number of members of this congregation had long 
been receiving the sacrament, though not confirmed, being admitted 
thereto before Bishop Dehon's time, he having been first to administer 
confirmation in this Diocese* The position taken by Mr* Trapier 
caused considerable dissension in the congregation, and the Vestry ad- 
dressed a letter to him on the subject* He, in reply, stated that he had 
decided not to make the rule laid down applicable to such as had pre- 
viously been communicants, though not confirmed, but those directly 
affected and others had meantime withdrawn from St* Michael's and 
gone elsewhere, in some instances, however, retaining their pews* 
As a result of this unfortunate difference, Mr* Trapier resigned, and 


25 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


Mr* Keith succeeded him* During the period we are now discussing 
(1840-60) we find in the reports of the parish to the Diocesan Con- 
vention, evidences of great interest and generous giving* The great 
feasts were appropriately observed, and special services held in Ad- 
vent and Lent* Offerings were made for the Church Home, the 
Advancement Society, the Clergy Society, the building of churches 
in Barnwell, S* C*, in Alexandria, La*, Greenville, Tenn*, Aiken, S* C*, 
Key West, Fla*, Church of the Holy Communion, Charleston, Chat- 
tanooga, Tenn*, Matagorda, Texas, besides special contributions and 
offerings for and by parochial societies, as the Ladies Sewing Society, 
and the Sisters of Charity, which latter, I have learned, was a society 
in the congregation that sought out and relieved cases of distress, that 
did great and good service until its discontinuance during the war 
1861-65, when most of its members left the City* In this period the 
Church also gave Bibles, Prayer Books, Fonts and Communion sil- 
ver to struggling churches in South Carolina, and otherwise evinced 
much missionary zeal, through the offerings of the congregation and 
societies organized in the interest of missions* For Communion alms 
the Church sometimes gave annually more than nine hundred dol- 
lars, and for missions over a thousand, not counting what was given 
for special missionary purposes* Thus did the Church flourish 
under Mr* Keith's long and faithful ministry in those prosperous days 
preceding the War between the States* In much of this he was aided 
by the Reverend Thomas John Young, who was elected assistant min- 
ister of St* Michael’s in 1847* Mr* Young brought to his ministry 
an earnestness, a zeal, and a broad and generous conception of the 
Church of God and its mission, worthy of all praise* It was due to 
him that the Church Home was established and became a blessing to 
so many, who otherwise would have been without a home* He 
took great interest in the Sunday School, and contributed much to 
its efficiency* Working together in love, rector and assistant labored 
for five years in the cause they both held dear, when Mr* Young 
“fell on sleep" whilst yet hardly past his prime* On the tablet near 
the south door erected “to a beloved pastor by the Vestry and con- 
gregation," is recorded their estimate of his character, in which were 
blended the affections that make the happiness of domestic life, with 
the qualities that adorn the pastoral office, a vigorous mind, carefully 

26 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

cultivated, a disposition earnest and firm, yet full of tenderness, a pure 
and holy life* Though for years a sufferer from sickness he grasped 
the entire circle of his duties, and the goodness of God permitted him 
to crown the instruction of his life by the lesson of his death* Strong 
in faith, hope and love for his friends and people, he forgot nothing 
that concerned their welfare, and ceased his care for Christ's Church 
on earth only when called to its joys in Heaven, “where they that 
be wise shall live as the brightness of the firmament, and they that 
turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever*" 

In 1853 the Reverend James Warley Miles became assistant min- 
ister, but soon resigned on account of ill health* At times, subse- 
quently, Mr* Miles supplied St* Michael's, notably just after the war, 
and always with great acceptability* More than once he was re- 
called to the Church, but he could never see his way clear to accept- 
ing* Wonderfully gifted as a reader and speaker, Mr* Miles left a 
profound impression on the hearts and minds of all to whom he min- 
istered, here and elsewhere, and his death, which took place in 1875, 
was deeply deplored* This brief notice is wholly inadequate to con- 
vey a proper conception of the remarkable ability and the charming 
personality of the Rev* Mr* Miles* It is only as connected with St* 
Michael's that this mention is made of him* Elsewhere has been 
recorded the esteem in which he was held by this community, which 
at the time of his death, paid willing tribute to his greatness* Follow- 
ing is the sketch of Mr* Miles appearing in the Convention Journal 
of 1876: 

After announcing his death, September 14, 1875, Bishop Howe 
said: “Mr* Miles studied divinity at the General Theological Seminary 
in New York, and was made deacon by Bishop Gadsden July 23, 1841, 
in St* Philip's Church, Charleston* He was advanced to the priest- 
hood August 4, 1843, by the same venerable Bishop* While at the 
seminary he, with a few other earnest spirits, conceived the thought 
of establishing a theological seminary in the then far West, which 
should also be a centre of missionary activity* This idea, conceived, 
realized and developed, is the Nashotah Seminary of today, in the 
Diocese of Wisconsin, and one of the foremost divinity schools in the 
land* Under the direction of his Bishop, Mr* Miles served as mis- 
sionary at Bradford Springs, Cheraw, and Pineville, in St* Stephen's 

27 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

Parish* In October, 1845, he was transferred to the missionary juris- 
diction of the Bishop of Constantinople* Returning after several 
years, he officiated in several congregations, but his tastes were 
scholarly, especially in the department of philology, and he loved re- 
tirement and study* He, therefore, retired almost altogether for a 
time from clerical work, and became professor of Greek Language and 
Literature in the College of Charleston* Latterly, however, he re- 
sumed, in a measure, the office and work of a clergyman, assisting 
his brethren with great pleasure, whenever they asked for his services* 
And these services were very welcome to a host of friends and ad- 
mirers who flocked to the churches where he was to preach* His 
voice, his rhetoric, his elocution, were all exquisite* Among his last 
discourses was that preached before this Convention at its last session, 
by the appointment of your president*” 

To him succeeded as assistant the Rev* James H* Elliott, who 
for thirteen years shared Mr* Keith's labors* Very reluctantly did 
the congregation give him up in 1866* Inability to support adequately 
two ministers alone caused the severance of the ties that so long had 
bound priest and people* 

While the Rev* James H* Elliott, D* D*, had long ceased to be 
officially connected with St* Michael's before he died, yet so deeply 
did he impress himself upon the congregation that it is only fitting 
that a brief sketch of his useful career should be placed on record in 
this place* After his ordination in 1849 he became assistant to Dr* 
Walker at St* Helena, Beaufort* When priested a year later, he took 
charge of the Church at Grahamville, where he continued until he 
came to St* Michael's in 1853* After the war, he went to Madison, 
Ga*, when, two years later, by reason of his literary reputation, he 
was called to the editorship of the “Christian Witness,” a religious 
journal published in Boston* There he remained until recalled to 
his native Diocese and became the rector of St* Paul's, Radcliffeboro, 
in which capacity he served until his death in 1877* He filled many 
important offices in the Diocese, serving as a member of the Standing 
Committee, as a deputy to the General Convention, and as trustee of 
the General Theological Seminary* Bishop Howe speaks of him 
thus in his annual address to the Convention of 1878: “As a theolo- 
gian Dr* Elliott ranked among the foremost of the Charleston clergy* 

28 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


He combined a clear, well-balanced mind with extreme amiability, 
and while he was not quick to be deceived, he looked with a kindly 
eye upon the errors of human nature* He was a faithful pastor, a 
vigorous writer, and an able preacher/' His father was Stephen 
Elliott, the distinguished naturalist of Beaufort* He practised law 
for several years in this Gty, but like so many others of his name, he 
felt the call of the ministry, and, like them, obeyed it* 


29 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


®f)e OTar ^ertob 

&t. Jfflu&aer*, from 1861 toX865 


|HILE yet Mr* Keith was rector, and Mr* Elliott was assist- 
ant minister, the storm of war, long gathering, finally burst* 
The peaceful and prosperous City echoed to the tramp of 
soldiery, and the sound of cannon in the waters of the bay* After 
that momentous day, April 12, 1861, when the attack on Fort Sumter 
was opened, and from St* Michael's steeple and other high places 
crowds viewed the bombardment, the normal civil and social life of 
the City underwent a great change* Its citizens in large numbers 
became soldiers, its commerce almost ceased, its educational life was 
seriously affected, and all this was necessarily felt by and reflected 
in the religious life of the community* Nevertheless, life had to go 
on, there were sheep to shepherd, and souls to be comforted, especially 
after the casualties resulting from the great battles in Virginia came to 
be known* Hence, we are not surprised to learn that in St* Michael's, 
as elsewhere, regular services were maintained throughout the 
earlier years of the struggle* The port was blockaded, and from time 
to time there were engagements between the Federal ships and the 
batteries erected to defend the City and harbor, but it was not until 
the early autumn of 1863, when Morris Island was occupied by the 
Federals, that the actual bombardment of the City began* St* Michael's 
steeple was one of the objects aimed at by the Federal gunners, 
as it had been by the British batteries on James Island in 1780* We 
will let Mr* Miller tell what befell the Church from that time on to 
the close of the war, in the following extract taken from the Minutes 
of the Vestry at their meeting of December 3, 1865* 


“Meeting of Vestry Held December 3, 1865* A letter was 
received from the Rev* Calvin Stebbins along with the Vestry Book 
of the Church from its foundation to 1824, and a resolution of thanks 


30 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH 

was voted to him for the same* Unfortunately, the particulars are 
not given* Mr* A* E* Miller (a Warden of the Church) submitted 
the following chronicle of the events of the siege, as affecting the 
Church, which was referred to a committee (consisting) of the au- 
thor and the chairman, and subsequently favorably reported upon, 
and unanimously ordered to be entered on the Minutes: 

"Minutes prepared by Mr* Archibald E* Miller, one of the 
Wardens of the Church, to perpetuate the memory of the casualties 
of the siege of Charleston by the United States forces, as they af- 
fected St* Michael's Church* 

"The following is a record of some of the events which occurred 
to St* Michael's Church during the bombardment of the City of 
Charleston* 

"On Sunday, 19th November, 1863, which had been appointed 
a Thanksgiving Day by the City authorities, the service of the 
Church was performed, as appointed in the Prayer Book, by the Rev* 
Paul Trapier Keith, rector* The congregation was dismissed with- 
out a sermon in consequence of the number of shells thrown into the 
City on that day from the United States batteries erected on Morris 
Island, four miles off* One of them exploded at the Church door 
as the congregation were leaving it* Another struck the Guard 
House opposite, the steeple of the Church being the object at which 
the enemy aimed* The Church was closed from this time, and on 
the Sunday following many repaired to St* Paul’s Church, in con- 
sequence of a public invitation to that effect* The rector left the 
City during the week following* The assistant minister. Rev* James 
H* Elliott, was absent at the time, and did not return until January, 
when he and the Rev* Mr* Keith, who was here for a time, assisted 
the Rev* Mr* Howe in keeping open St* Paul's Church (as the rector 
of it, the Rev* Dr* Hanckel, was also absent) for the benefit of those 
of the three congregations who remained in town, and also for any 
who would come to hear the Word preached* 

"On Easter Monday, 1864, the election of Vestry and Wardens 
for this Church was held there, and what was remarkable, those for 
St* Philip's, St* Paul's, and Grace Churches were held at the same 
time and place, but only a few were present* The Vestry elected 

31 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

at that time held but one meeting, to organize, and then left the 
City* They have now all returned with the exception of Jacob K* 
Sass, Esqr., whose death we all lament, and whose memory will 
be ever held in esteem for his piety and benevolence and usefulness 
as one of the Church's enlightened members* 

“The Rev* Mr* Howe officiated at St* Paul's, with others, until 
sometime in February, 1865, when he left the City in consequence 
of his objecting to read the prayer for the President of the United 
States* The same thing occurred to the Rev* Mr* Marshall, D* D* 
The United States officers, by request, got permission to hold service 
at Grace Church, and the Rev* Mr* Green officiated, with others, for 
a time, until the rector of the Church returned* The public availed 
themselves of it, and the Church was filled* 

“During the bombardment of the City the Church was in immi- 
nent danger of being destroyed, as the steeple was made a lookout 
station for the Confederate General, and had a rope ladder from the 
second balcony, which was intended to be used to descend, in case of 
danger, by the officers stationed there to observe the surrounding 
country* The wonder is that it was not hit oftener by the shells, 
but several struck the Church, and if the organ had remained in its 
place, it would have been destroyed, but through the exertions and 
timely forethought of Mr* Alexander Robertson and some other mem- 
bers, it was taken down, as well as the chandelier, and boxed up 
with many other articles of church furniture, and sent away for safety* 
“The Church bells were removed to Columbia by the public 
authorities, with the consent of the Vestry, sometime in June, 1862, 
after the Battle of Secessionville, as also the Communion plate, which 
was very costly, as described in Dr* Dalcho's History of the Church, 
to which several pieces were added by members of the congregation* 
They were all in the care of Mr* J* K* Sass, President of the Bank 
of Charleston (at Columbia), but were destroyed by the United States 
soldiers under General Sherman, in the burning of Columbia* On 
several occasions after they were sent away Mr* Alexander Robert- 
son loaned the set of Communion plate belonging to Grace Church, 
Sullivan's Island, which was returned to him* 

“The interior of the building was very much damaged, several 
shells having entered the roof, and one entered the east end of the 


32 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

chancel, which tore off and knocked down the whole interior of the 
same, with the gilded tablets containing the Ten Commandments, the 
Belief, and the Lord's Prayer, exploding at the same time, and sink- 
ing into the pavement of the altar, destroying the pews, and even 
bursting out the panels of the pulpit, and scattering to destruction all 
within its range* It was a shocking scene of desolation* After the 
building was in this situation, it was plundered by thieves, by night and 
by day* Followers of the army made free with the contents of it; 
although informed against by the sexton, they would intrude* On 
one occasion a large number of visitors, from curiosity, entered, and 
broke off from the pilasters the gilded and carved ornaments, and took 
from the front of the pulpit the initials (I* H* S*), which were inlaid 
in ivory* The pulpit was the original one put up at the building of 
the Church in 1751, and preached in on the first (day) of February, 
1761* The first election of Vestry and Wardens was in 1759* 

“The repairs, after the cessation of war, necessary to be made, 
were undertaken by Mr* James R* Pringle, and required considerable 
time and labor, and by his judgment and good management, the 
Church was opened on 26 November, 1865, making two years and 
seven days from the time it was closed* * * * The rector being 

absent, the chairman of the Vestry invited the Rev* James Warley 
Miles to open the Church, and he accordingly complied, as will be 
seen by the correspondence recorded*" 

Such is the brief and graphic narrative of the main events of the 
siege of the City as it relates to St* Michael's, recorded by its faithful 
Warden, from personal knowledge* As will appear elsewhere, a por- 
tion of the original silver plate of the Church, believed by Mr* Miller to 
have been lost in Columbia at the time of Sherman's raid, was subse- 
quently recovered* The shell that entered the chancel broke out the 
bricks in the arch now filled by the Raphael window, which had been 
closed, because very near to the Church, when it was built, a frame 
dwelling had stood, and for fear of fire damaging the Church the arch 
was bricked in* The fact had long been forgotten, but the entrance of 
the shell disclosed the existence of an aperture for a window in the 
chancel* This aperture was then filled by a window of stained glass, 

33 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

which, after the earthquake was replaced by the present one — “St, 
Michael casting out the Dragon/' 

Mr, Keith returned to the City from Anderson, S, C„ where 
he and his family had refugeed during the later years of the war. 
He found his people reduced in circumstances, but firm in their devo- 
tion to the Church and its rector, the work of renovation meanwhile 
having gone on in the face of many difficulties and discouragements, 
and services maintained, as related by Mr, Miller, by St, Michael's 
faithful friend, the Rev, James W, Miles, in the rector's absence. 

It was at this juncture that the Vestry felt themselves obliged 
to dispense with the services of the Rev, Dr, Elliott, their assistant 
minister, by reason of inability to support both the rector and the as- 
sistant, A period of slow recovery ensued, both as regards the 
Church's life and that of the community, but for many the strain 
of those years of war, and the breaking up of the old civilization that 
followed, proved too great, and those of us who can recall those times 
are not surprised to learn that two years later Mr, Keith, after a long 
and faithful service extending over a period of nearly twenty-eight 
years, at last entered into the rest that remaineth for the people of 
God, Forty-three years a minister of Jesus Christ, he held only two 
charges in all that time — first as rector of Prince George, Winyah, 
and then St, Michael's, The short but exquisite characterization 
of him recorded on the mural tablet near the middle door, deserves 
repetition here, nor requires any addition, being a complete picture in 
itself, “A man 'in whom was no guile', of the sweetest natural dis- 
position, of rare modesty, and firm for the truth. His record is on 
high, his memory is still cherished by some in the congregation to 
whom he ministered, and his words do follow him to this day, even 
though long since he has been resting from his labors," 


34 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


£>t. 


tcfiaer* lifter t fj e 

)t $enob of &ecoberp 


ar 


REVEREND RICHARD S* TRAPIER was elected assist- 
an t minister not long before Mr* Keith's death, but he did not 
come to the Church until October, 1868, Mr* Keith having died 
August 23 of that year* In January, 1869, Mr* Trapier was made 
rector, and continued In that office until July 16, 1894, when, owing 
to an unfortunate accident that disabled him, he was retired as "rec- 
tor emeritus" and so continued until his death in October, 1895* 
During his term of service the trying times of the Reconstruction period, 
1868 to 1876, occurred* No free people were ever subjected to 
an ordeal more severe and bitter than were our people during the 
ten years following upon 1868* The Indignities and Injustices of that 
hideous period in our history were keenly felt and resented by our 
people, though borne In a spirit of heroism that was their just inherit- 
ance* Such experiences could not but leave their mark upon the 
Church and the State alike, and, through an unfortunate combination 
of circumstances. Issues were then made that for twelve years di- 
vided the Church In South Carolina, and there were breaches of 
friendship that were painful In the extreme between many of those 
who, up to that time, had been as brothers one to another* It Is not 
necessary now and here to go Into the merits of this controversy, or 
to do more than allude to it as an experience that must have added 
much to the cares and anxieties of the rector and the congregation in 
those dark days, In the midst of which came the storm of August 25, 
1885, and the earthquake of 1886, August 31, well called "the 
saddest page in St* Michael's history*" 


35 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


JUtcfjaersi anti t Ije (Eartfiquafee 


LTHOUGH St* Michael's had experienced many vicissitudes, 
and passed through many storms, and had even known the 
tremors of the earth-shocks of 1811-1812, its heaviest blow 
came through the great earthquake of August 31, 1886* The dam- 
ages of the storm the year before, though severe, were as nothing to 
those incurred through the earthquake* Mr* Geo* S* Holmes, an 
eye-witness, in his “Sketch,” says of the Church as it then appeared: 
“The walls were shattered in many places, the steeple had sunk 
eight inches, and was slightly out of the perpendicular, a fissure sev- 
eral inches wide ran through the vestibule and up the middle aisle 
for ten or fifteen feet, the portico seemed about to fall into the street, 
and the galleries into the body of the Church*” The News and 
Courier of September I, 1886, spoke of it as the “saddest wreck of all,” 
while the people of the City and friends far away and near lamented 
lest the old Church might be beyond repair* That these apprehen- 
sions seemed justified at the time will appear when the following 
description is read* The pen picture prefacing it is worthy of re- 
production here* In the Year Book for 1886 is a descriptive narra- 
tive of the earthquake, written by Mr* Carlisle McKinley, then one 
of the editorial staff of the News and Courier* It begins thus: 


“When the bells of St* Michaers Church, in Charleston, chimed 
the third quarter after nine o'clock on the evening of Tuesday, August 
31, 1886, their familiar tones spoke peace and peace alone to the many 
happy homes on every side, within whose sheltering walls the people 
of a fair and prosperous city had gathered to rest, before taking up 
the burdens of another busy day* There was no whispered warn- 
ing in the well-known sounds, or in any subdued voice of the night, 
to hint of the fearful calamity so near at hand* Not the unconscious 
bells themselves were less suspicious of coming ill than were they 
whom their sweetly solemn notes summoned, as at other times, to 


36 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

seek forgetfulness in sleep* The streets of the City were silent and 
nearly deserted* Overhead, the stars twinkled with unwonted bril- 
liancy in a moonless, unclouded sky* The waters of the wide harbor 
were unruffled by even a passing breeze* Around the horizon the 
dark woodlands hung like purple curtains shutting out the world be- 
yond, as though Nature itself guarded the ancient city hidden within 
the charmed circle* Earth and sea alike seemed wrapped in a spell 
of hushed and profound repose, that reflected as in a mirror the quiet 
of the blue eternal heavens bending over all* 

“It was upon such a scene of calm and silence that the shock of 
the great earthquake fell, with the suddenness of a thunderbolt 
launched from the starlit skies ; with the might of ten thousand thunder- 
bolts falling together; with a force so far surpassing all other forces 
known to men, that no similitude can truly be found for it* The 
firm foundation upon which every home had been built in unquestion- 
ing faith in its stability, was giving way; the barriers of the great 
deep were breaking up* To the ignorant mind, it seemed, in truth, 
that God had laid His hand in anger upon His creation* The great 
and the wise, knowing little more, fearing little less than the humblest 
of their wretched fellow-creatures, bowed themselves in awe as before 
the face of the Destroying Angel* * * * Within seven minutes after 
the last stroke of the chime, and while its echoes seemed yet to linger in 
listening ears. Charleston was in ruins* * * * Soon after the 
second shock had passed, the writer started homeward, to find the 
scenes enacted on Broad Street repeated at every step of the way* 
St* Michael's steeple towered high and white through the gloom, seem- 
ingly uninjured* * * * A chapter could well be devoted to a 

description of the extensive injuries inflicted upon St* Michael’s 
Church, one of the detached public buildings grouped together at the 
corner of Meeting and Broad Streets* On the morning after the 
shock the top of the steeple was found to be eighteen inches to the 
west of its proper position, and the supporting tower had settled bodily 
to a depth of eight inches* The steeple has since nearly recovered 
its perpendicular* The east and west walls and the portico were badly 
broken* The north and south walls were divided into sections, 
roughly defined by lines drawn perpendicularly through the keystone 

37 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


of each of the great arched windows and of the smaller arched win- 
dows above* The fractures in all the walls extended from the roof 
to the ground — a very rare occurrence* The explanation of the ex- 
cessive damage suffered by this building is that the tower, the portico, 
and the body of the Church oscillated independently of each other, in 
consequence of which the building and the portico were heaved and 
crushed against the tower, and torn by a variety of twisting motions 
imparted to them*” 

So far Mr* McKinley* The interior of the Church, as disclosed 
by photographs taken at the time, revealed extensive damages also* 
Great gaping holes in the ceiling, large parts of the plastering fallen, 
doors wrenched away, and pillars leaning towards the northwest, 
while the tiles in the middle aisle looked as though rooted up by a 
heavy plowshare, and sand and water oozed through the apertures 
to the depth of two inches or more* The main vestibule presented a 
scene of sickening devastation, with its stone tiles heaped hither and 
thither in great confusion, as the floor settled down eight inches, mak- 
ing the step still existing between the level of the Church floor and 
that of the vestibule* No wonder the News and Courier should have 
pronounced it “the saddest wreck of all*” But, with indomitable 
spirit the congregation, through its Vestry, took up the task of re- 
habilitating the venerable structure* In response to appeals sent out 
by the Vestry, and also by Rt* Rev* W* B* W* Howe, then Bishop 
of the Diocese, on behalf of all the Churches that had been injured by 
the earthquake, considerable sums of money were given, coming 
from churches and individuals all over the land, until it could be 
recorded that “by the generosity of American Churchmen and friends” 
the building had been restored and reopened June 19, 1887* It was 
necessary, however, for the Church to borrow $9,000*00, in addition 
to what was given, to complete the necessary repairs* 

During the period of repairs, the congregation worshipped in the 
Sunday School room of St* John's Lutheran Church, most generously 
loaned for the purpose, which attention was afterwards most grate- 
fully acknowledged by the presentation of two beautiful chalices, ap- 
propriately inscribed, to St* John's Church* The friendship between 
St* Michael's and St* John's dates back to Bishop Dehon's time, he 


38 


history of st. Michael’s church 

having "paid attention to the spiritual wants of the people of St 
Johns for many years" while that Church was without a minister, 
bee Old Vestry Book, page 456* 

The re-opening of the Church after its repairs, and the resump- 
tion of regular services, is marked by a tablet in the main vestibule 
containing this epitome of the history of the building: 

PARISH OF ST* MICHAEL* 

Established 
June 14, A* D* 1751* 

This Building 
Begun in 1752, 

Opened for Divine Worship 
February 1st, 1761, 

Exposed to the fire of 
British Artillery on James Island 
in 1780* 

Struck four times by the 
Federal Artillery on Morris Island 
1863 to 1865* 

Seriously injured by Cyclone 
August 25th, 1885* 

Almost destroyed by earthquake 
August 31, 1886* 

Has been restored by the generosity 
of American Churchmen and Friends, 

And re-opened June 1 9th, 1887* 

Gloria in Excelsis Deo ! 

One incident of the days following the great shock that should 
not be passed over is recorded by Mr* Holmes in his “Historical 
Sketch*” He says: “Hardly less joyful than the first ringing of the 
bells after the war, was the striking of the clock at two p* m*, on 
Wednesday, September 8th, just about a week after it was silenced 
by the earthquake* For days the hands on the dial had pointed to 
the fateful hour of 9:54, and no sound had come from the dear old 
steeple* But at last Mr* John Beesley, the sexton, bravely ventured 

39 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


up to the clock room and set the ancient time-piece going, so that 
presently its well-known sound rang out, carrying joy and renewed 
hope to many a terror-stricken heart It seemed as if things had re- 
turned to their normal condition, and that now life might flow on 
in its accustomed channels/' 


40 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


®fje Close of tlje Century 

anb t&e ©pentng of tfje ®toenttetft 


HE NEXT few years were comparatively uneventful in the 
history of St* Michael's, as compared with the earthquake 
period and the re-opening of the Church* Not long after this, in 
the early nineties, we find reference made to efforts to procure an as- 
sistant for Mr* Trapier, but nothing definite was done until January, 
1893, when the Reverend John Drayton Grimke was elected assist- 
ant, in which position he remained until February 9, 1894, when 
circumstances caused him to resign, he offering, however, unofficially, 
to continue to render such services as he might be called on for, an 
offer which the Vestry accepted* In June of that year, a proposition, 
couched in most considerate terms, was submitted to Mr* Trapier, 
offering to make him rector emeritus on full salary* This Mr* Tra- 
pier declined, though highly appreciating the spirit in which the offer 
was made, but a fortnight later, owing to a serious accident which 
crippled and disabled him, he signified his willingness to become rec- 
tor emeritus, and the Vestry accordingly made him such 16 July, 
1894* Shortly after, the Vestry asked Mr* Grimke to assume the 
rectorship, which he did in August, 1894, entering upon his duties in 
the early fall* In December of that year he procured the Reverend 
Thomas P* Baker as his assistant, but his health, never robust, gave 
way after a few weeks, and he died March 27, 1895, the Church 
services being maintained by Mr* Baker until the December following, 
when the present incumbent assumed the rectorship* 

The committee of the Vestry appointed for the purpose pre- 
sented resolutions on the death of Mr* Grimke, which were adop- 
ted, expressing, in some measure, the grief caused by his death* They 
say that his death had filled their hearts with unspeakable sorrow* 
They refer to his pure life, holy conversation, and eminent Christian 
character as exerting a great influence for good, while in his earnest. 


41 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

sincere and humble Christian life they found an example worthy to be 
followed* Thus they record their reverence and affection for him 
whilst living, and their grief for his loss* The tablet is on the wall 
near the door to the Vestry room, while on the tablet of the hearts of 
many in the congregation he has left the enduring impress of his per- 
sonality and his teaching, for time and eternity* 

At the same Vestry meeting which received the notice of accept- 
ance of their call by the present rector, the death of Mr* Trapier was 
announced* He died, suddenly, near Highlands, North Carolina, 
22 October, 1895* In the resolutions adopted by the Vestry at a 
subsequent meeting, it is said of him that he was earnest and sincere, 
with a simple, straightforward faith, a vision that 

Saw distant fields of Eden gleam 
And did not dream it was a dream* 

“One who bore severe and prolonged suffering with rare forti- 
tude, and who illustrated in his life the fearless following of the 
Truth as he conceived it,” and that there remains with us as a power 
for good the memory of him as a loving, tender father, an upright 
and honorable gentleman, and a cultured priest* By his special re- 
quest, no memorial of him has been placed in the Church* 

After the death of Mr* Grimke, the Rev* Thomas P* Baker, 
who was his assistant, by request of the Vestry, continued to officiate 
in the Church until early in December, 1895, when the present rector 
took charge on the third Sunday in Advent* The first considerable 
undertaking after his coming was the enlarging and modernizing of 
the Sunday School building in such manner as not only to provide for 
the accommodation of the Sunday School, but also a place of meet- 
ing for the several guilds and other societies of the parish, and a study 
for the rector* Additions to the Church's furnishings and ornaments 
were made during this period, from time to time, which are more fully 
described in a separate section of this history, where they have been 
grouped together in their order* Of some other events of interest it 
will be proper now to speak* 


42 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


tEfje Confederate JHemoual 




N THE south wall of the main vestibule as one enters, is a tab- 
let erected to the Confederate dead of St* Michaels Church* 
The first mention of the tablet was in a letter addressed to the 
Vestry, 30 March, 1899, by the secretary of the General Guild, 
proposing to put up such a memorial in a place to be selected by the 
Vestry* Consent was given, and a joint committee from the Vestry 
and the Guild was appointed to proceed with the work, the Vestry 
reserving the right to approve the design and inscription, and also to 
choose the place of erection* It was not, however, until December, 
1901, that the memorial was ready to be unveiled, and it was then 
determined to request the Bishop of the Diocese, the Rt* Rev* Ellison 
Capers, D* D*, to be present on the occasion of the unveiling and de- 
liver the address* The Bishop appointed June 12, 1902, as the date, 
and arrangements were made accordingly* An appropriate service 
was held in the body of the Church, attended by many members of 
the congregation, the veterans of the several Confederate Camps in 
the City, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Sons of Vet- 
erans, the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, the 
Colonial Dames, the faculty and students of the Confederate Home 
College, and General C* Irvine Walker, commanding the United Con- 
federate Veterans, and his staff* The Bishop, himself a Brigadier- 
General of the Confederate States army, delivered the address* Re- 
pairing to the vestibule, the tablet was then unveiled by Misses Ra- 
melle McKay Frost and Sarah Rutledge Prioleau, and "taps'" were 
sounded as the fitting conclusion of the memorable occasion* The 
flags used to drape the tablet were the guidon of Hart's Battery, the 
flag of the Washington Light Infantry, and one made by the women 
of Mobile in 1863 to replace the flag captured from the troops of Gen* 


43 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

Zack Deas in the battle of Missionary Ridge* The tablet contains 
twenty-two names, as follows: 

Brigadier-General J* Johnston Pettigrew, aged 35* 

Lt* Col* Thomas Pinckney Alston, aged 32* 

Lt* Col* Thomas M* Wagner, aged 37* 

Capt* Edward Downes Frost, aged 30* 

Capt* Robert Pringle, aged 26* 

Surgeon Thomas L* Ogier, aged 3J* 

Asst* Surgeon Edward Gough Porcher, aged 26* 

Lt* Thomas Bee Huger, C* S* N*, aged 42* 

Lt* Philip Porcher, C* S* N*, aged 29* 

Lt* John Julius Pringle Alston, aged 27* 

Lt* William Heyward Grimball, aged 26* 

Lt* Thomas Middleton, aged 30* 

Lt* Charles Alston Pringle, aged 21* 

Major William Henry Ladson, S* C* M*, aged 32* 

Edward Bland Beesley, aged 20* 

Thomas Lynch, aged 46* 

Oliver Hering Middleton, aged 18* 

Thomas Parker, aged 29* 

Frederick George Porcher, aged 22* 

J* R* Poinsett Pringle, aged 21* 

Alexander Robertson, aged 24* 

Lewis Morris Vander Horst, aged 33* 

On the entablature, at the top, are these two lines: 

How grand a fame this marble watches o'er; 

Their wars behind them, God's great peace before* 

Below is a design consisting of the Confederate battle flag and 
the State flag, crossed, and in the centre is the Great Seal of the Con- 
federate States of America* 

Surmounting the list of names is the inscription: 

St* Michael's 

Writes within her hallowed walls 
The names of her gallant sons 
Who died for the Confederate Cause 
And consecrates their memory* 

1861-1865* 


44 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


Following the list of names is this inscription: 

They fought the patriot's fight: 

They kept the faith of their fathers: 

They fell on their stainless shields* 

Non Sibi Domine Sed Patriae* 

The mellow rays of the setting sun gilded the western sky as 
the bugler sounded “taps/' and few who were present will ever for- 
get the scene, as with uplifted hands the Bishop committed the assem- 
bly to God's gracious mercy and protection, and the ceremonies came 
to a fitting close* 

The beautiful lines on the entablature were composed by George 
Herbert Sass, Esqr*, then a member of St* Michael's Vestry* The 
inscriptions above and below the list of names were suggested by 
Bishop Capers to Mr* Edwin P* Frost, to whose unceasing interest 
in promoting the erection of the memorial the impressive result is 
largely due, as the committee of ladies with whom he co-operated 
testify* 

In the summer of 1905, the Vestry decided to have the chancel 
thoroughly renovated* Messrs* Tiffany, of New York, undertook 
the work, and the committee in charge reported October 26 that 
it had been “carefully and faithfully done, and is now completed*" 
The dome of the chancel was exquisitely decorated, and over it was 
placed for its better protection a metal roofing* The former plain pil- 
lars were replaced by others in keeping with those supporting the 
canopy of the pulpit* The heads of the cherubim in the space above 
the tables containing the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, 
and the Lord's Prayer, gave way to other like heads in better pro- 
portion: the tables themselves were replaced by others in red letters 
on an old gold background, the chancel rail was regilded, and several 
of the large marble tiles broken by the shell that entered the chancel 
February 14, 1865, were replaced by others of like color, and the wains- 
coting painted to conform to the color of the pews* The next summer 
the galleries and the pillars supporting them were painted so as to ac- 
cord with the chancel* It is doubtful if anywhere can be found a more 
harmonious and impressive interior than St* Michael's now presents* 

45 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

The work described was later brought to its present state by subse- 
quent additions that leave little to be desired for the purposes intended, 
of restoration and embellishment* 

It came about in this way: 

After the great storm of 1911 , which necessitated extensive re- 
pairs, Mr* Edwin P* Frost proposed to the Vestry, March 1 , 191 2, to 
renovate the main vestibule of the Church to accord with what it had 
been prior to the destructive effects of the earthquake of 1886, and to 
provide fixtures for the lighting of the Church in harmony with the 
design of the great chandelier* The Vestry gratefully accepted the 
offer of Mr* Frost, and granted also his request to insert a simple 
tablet recording the fact of the restoration as a memorial to his wife, 
Mary C* McKay* The work done thus as a gift to the Church was 
extensive and in the best of taste* The old wainscoting was replaced 
in hardwood, conforming in color to the color scheme of the interior* 
The door placed at the inner entrance of the Church after the earth- 
quake was removed and replaced by a handsome hardwood door, also 
conforming in color to the pews, with pilasters of the same design as 
the pillars inside the Church, supporting the galleries* The pulpit, 
also, was scraped of many coats of paint, so that the original colors 
were allowed to come out, after being long hidden, while the inlaid 
star or sunburst forming the ceiling of the sounding-board became dis- 
tinctly visible to many for the first time* The electric light fixtures 
were also designed in pattern to conform to those in the great chandelier, 
preserving the old candle-stick shape, and a smaller chandelier was 
placed in the vestibule, held by the identical chain by which the great 
chandelier was originally suspended* These lights under the galleries 
were first used at the early celebration on Easter-day, 1912 . The re- 
stored vestibule was opened, with appropriate prayers by the rector in 
presence of the congregation the first Sunday in Advent of the same 
year* A small but exquisitely finished tablet of the finest marble in- 
serted in the wall to the left of the inner door to the Church, records 
the work of renovation and the name of her in whose memory it was 
done* 

Since then the vestry-room has been done over and suitably 
furnished and carpeted* To this work Advent Guild contributed gen- 
erously* 


46 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


Epiphany Guild has contributed a marble pediment to the altar, 
raising it ten inches above the floor, a great improvement* Other 
work done by these guilds will be described in its proper place* The 
latest work done in the Church has been the removal of the disfiguring 
interior storm doors in the north and south vestibules, and their re- 
plastering and re-painting* The improvement thus made is most 
pleasing* The vestibules now stand in all their original imposing 
spaciousness and symmetry* The exterior of the Church has since 
been repainted in white, and it may be said of St* Michael's, as Isaiah 
said of the City of the Lord: His people have striven to “beautify the 
place of His sanctuary*" 


47 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


tEf) e Jfamous <0U> &net?ler t^rgatt 


As being most intimately associated with the history of St* 
Michael's, the story of the famous organ which for a hundred and 
forty-three years led the praises of the congregation, is here told* By 
request of the Vestry the rector prepared the sketch and delivered it 
at the morning service January 15, \ 9 \\, the second Sunday before 
the sesqui-centennial anniversary of the opening of the Church for 
Divine worship in 1761* On the 29 January, this anniversary was 
appropriately observed, as is related elsewhere, and the new organ 
was used on that occasion, for the first time* The story of the old 
organ, as gathered from the several Minute Books of the Vestry, re- 
veals the fact that it survived many vicissitudes* Probably no other 
organ in this country has had so eventful a history, and it is with great 
satisfaction that we record the fact that a large number of the wooden 
pipes of the old instrument were incorporated in its successor, so that 
in the present organ we have both the new and the old — an unique 
combination* 

Following is the address of the rector as delivered on the occa- 
sion referred to: 

Psalm lxviii: 24-25: It is well seen, O God, how Thou goest; 
how Thou, my God and King, goest in the sanctuary* The singers 
go before, the minstrels follow after, in the midst are the damsels play- 
ing with the timbrels* 

These words describe in brief a part of the Temple service as it 
was celebrated at the time the psalm was composed, the date being 
uncertain* The part of the service described is the procession as it 
entered the courts of the Lord's house* The singers, who were al- 
always men, went before, i* e*, at the head of the procession* The 
players on instruments, both wind and stringed, followed* The 
women, encircling the singers and players, and themselves adding the 
music of timbrels, modern tambourines* A verse of the processional 

48 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

hymn is also given: “Give thanks, O Israel, unto God the Lord in 
the congregations, from the fullness of the heart/' 

Following the choir were princely representatives of Israel's lead- 
ing tribes from the extreme south and north of the land, arrayed in 
Oriental splendor, and joining heart and voice in rendering the praises 
of the Lord God of Hosts* 


Cbolutton of transition was vcr y gradual from the employ- 

thp d&rrr/m mcn t of the many separate musical instruments in 

^ ^ religious worship of the olden time, to that of seeking 

to embody them into the organ, which, with its many sorts and sizes 
of pipes, in course of time, came to be used in churches as a sub- 
stitute for the separate instruments, though it was not uncommon long 
ago, as it is not now, to supplement the organ with an orchestral ac- 
companiment* The invention of the organ is attributed to Ctesibius 
of Alexandria, about 200 A* D* In 755 A* D*, one was presented 
to Pepin, King of France, by the Emperor Copronymus, of the Con- 
stantinopolitan or Eastern Empire, but it required another seven hun- 
dred years to bring the organ to anything like a high degree of per- 
fection* In the seventeenth century the wind chest was substituted 
by Christian Forner, for the great number of bellows formerly in use, 
twenty to twenty-four pairs often existing in one organ, requiring 
from ten to twelve men to tread them, being worked by foot, not by 
hand, as afterwards* The improvement in organ building still goes 
on, as any one may see by comparing the organ now erecting with the 
one that it has replaced* When this Church was opened for Divine 
worship in 176J, an organ hired from a Mr* Strobel was used, Mr* 
Hoff being organist* A year later another organ was installed, belong- 
ing to Sampson Neyle, who generously offered it to the Church until 
one could be procured from Great Britain* Mr* Fred Grunsweig was 
the organist, and the instrument was set up by Mr* John Speissegger, 
the ancestor six generations removed, of our present organist, who also 
set up and tuned the Snetzler organ when it came* After a period of 
six years the Neyle organ was replaced by the old Snetzler instrument 
just removed, after a service of 143 years* We have no record of the 
members of the choir at that early period, but no doubt they occupied 
places in the organ gallery, which, a little later on, if not at the very 

49 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

first, was called “the orchestra/' The clerk then led the responses of 
the congregation, whether in reading or singing, and the psalter was 
chanted as it is today throughout England, and in most of her colonies, 
the clerk singing the verses with uneven numbers, and the choir 
and congregation those with even numbers, all joining together at the 
glorias* In those days the organist of St* Michael's had no regular 
salary, his pay depended upon what he received through an offering 
made for that purpose on Christmas day — which pay, we learn by 
the Minutes of 1772, was never less than £50, and sometimes running 
up to £80 — a fact that shows how then, as now, offerings depended 
in great degree upon the weather and also upon the disposition of 
the people towards a given object* Organists succeeded one another 
quite rapidly, it seems, and we find the Vestry, in their correspondence 
concerning the procuring of competent men, employing arguments of 
this sort, not without guile* They say: “We want a skillful person, 
a single man, who could increase his income by teaching music* 
Should he prove himself sober and clever in his business, he would 
have opportunity to advance himself by marriage, and settling amongst 
us*" A Mr* Hartley, a British subject, came in 1773, but July 16, 1776, 
he was discharged, probably because of his sympathy for Great Britain, 
the American Revolution having then just begun, and feeling run- 
ning very high* Little or nothing is said of the organ until 1792, 
when the congregation, having somewhat recovered from the effects 
of the war, repaired the Church and the organ* It is at this period 
that we find references in the Vestry's Minutes showing that St* 
Michael's had a vested choir of boys, probably the first in this country* 
Thus, Dr* Purcell, then rector, is requested by the Vestry to entertain 
at his house every Sunday six of the orphan boys as an incitement for 
their better performance of the service and adherence to their Church 
duty* An allowance was made to him for so doing* Reference is 
subsequently made to an allowance to William Thurston, colored, 
for washing the surplices of the clergy and children* Whether the 
stimulus of Dr* Purcell's entertainments failed of its effect or from some 
other motive not expressed, we find a proposal made at this time to 
have the St* Cecilia Society's band take part in the service on a cer- 
tain Sunday* Quite properly this offer was declined by the Vestry* 
The organ underwent repairs in 1802 that must have been somewhat 

50 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


extensive, since they were designed to prevent it from “going utterly 
to ruin/' Its condition may have suggested the offer of the Society's 
band* When the instrument was restored, the organist, Samuel 
Rodgers, is directed to chant such parts of the service as have been 
prescribed by the rules, meaning no doubt, the rubrics, and he is given 
one month to prepare so to do* 


Trrup (tTfiniV S° me changes must have taken place in the personnel 
of the choir about this time, for we hear of the pro- 
vision made for instructing the “boys of this Church" in psalmody and 
chanting* The choir must consist of not fewer than twelve boys, and 
as many more as could be procured should be added, excellent rules for 
their governance being adopted, applicable as much to choirs of today as 
then* Rehearsal every Friday afternoon and Sunday morning before 
service* The clerk and organist must both be present at rehearsals to 
attend to the behavior of the boys, preserving such order and decorum as 
shall become the solemnity of Divine worship* The organist must dis- 
miss after repeated admonitions, any boys whom he shall find disorderly, 
rude, or refractory, or any indicated as such by the rector or assistant 
minister* None but the choir to be admitted to the orchestra — truly 
a well considered set of rules, but history does not record what results 
followed, nor say if the high ideal thus set up was even approximately 
realized* Mr* Jacob Eckhard was elected organist in 1809* He 
served in this capacity for 24 years* During his term, the organ again 
underwent repairs, and efforts were made to establish right relations 
between the choir and the congregation* Thus, Mr* Daniel Ravenel, 
in 1825, offered the following resolution, which was adopted: “Re- 
garding psalmody as an important part of public worship, the sol- 
emnity and value of which depend upon it being the act of the congre- 
gation, the Vestry are of opinion that the organ and the singing of 
the clerk are designed to lead and unite the voices of the people, with- 
out forming the principal part of the music*" Interludes and solos 
are here aimed at, showing that organist and singers were not in- 
disposed to air their accomplishments, when opportunity offered, but 
Mr* Ravenel was quite right, and the organist was directed to regulate 
the music, both vocal and instrumental, according to the views ex- 
pressed* Mr* Ravenel's idea, let me repeat, as to the relation of the 

51 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


organ and choir to the congregation, is absolutely correct* It was 
never intended that they should do more than lead and unite the voices 
of the congregation* They were not instituted with the idea that the 
choir should sing to the congregation, as though they were conducting 
a concert, nor that they should sing instead of the congregation, as is too 
often the case, especially with quartette choirs, which really are of com- 
paratively modern origin, and have had much to do with the disuse of 
congregational singing, a fact greatly to be regretted* The almost 
universal use, wherever practicable, of large choirs, requiring a full 
accompaniment by the organ, came into being, in great measure, from 
a desire to restore congregational singing, in which the object is not 
chiefly artistic effect, but united worship, as indicated by the versicle 
and response in both morning and evening prayer: “O Lord, open 
Thou our lips*” “And our mouth” — see the force of the singular 
number — “shall show forth Thy praise*” I hope the time will come, 
and that soon, when this old custom of congregational singing, in use 
alike in the Church of the Old Testament and the New, will be re- 
stored in St* Michael's and elsewhere, and that our praises shall be 
led by members of our congregation offering themselves for this high 
and sacred service* 


I* , , Again in 1833 the organ underwent extensive re- 

1 pairs, and additions were made also of large open 

diapason pipes, with a separate wind chest* Miss 
Elizabeth H* Bacot became now the organist, a place that she held 
for thirty years, or until the late autumn of 1863* It was about this 
time (1835) that the position of clerk was abolished* A decade later 
there is a letter to the Vestry from Mr* Strong, declining to serve 
longer as chorister in consequence of inability to sustain the basso part 
without losing ultimately command of his voice, it being only a tenor* 
In connection with this apparently justifiable act of Mr* Strong, there 
is the first mention of singers being paid* From this time there are 
frequent references to salaries of organist and choir, though some ren- 
dered this service gratuitously, as we learn in 1857, when costly silver 
pitchers were presented to the Misses Reid for such service, covering 
a considerable length of time* The organ again in 1858 needed and 
received repairs and additions under the skillful hands of the elder 

52 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

Mr* Baker* There is nothing of interest in this connection until the 
summer of 1863, when Morris Island fell into the hands of the Fed- 
eral army, and the City came under fire from the Swamp Angel, and 
later from other batteries* Miss Bacot was then granted indefinite 
leave of absence* After a Thanksgiving service November 19, 1863, 
punctuated by the explosion of falling shells, the Church was ordered 
closed, the organ, chandelier and other properties were removed, and 
services ceased until November 26, 1865* It is related on good au- 
thority that Mr* John Beesley, long time sexton of the Church, was 
injured by being struck on the knee by a piece of stone as the result 
of the explosion of a shell just as the people were coming out after 
this service* I learn from one (R* I* Middleton) who has knowledge 
of the facts, and took always a deep interest in the organ, that it was 
stored in the Sunday-school building of St* Paurs, Radcliffeboro, 
where it remained until replaced in this Church in the late fall of 1865, 
when my informant became the organist* Again in 1871 the organ 
was thoroughly overhauled by Mr* Baker, and the case enlarged* 
My informant says that at this time a combination stop, known as the 
“furniture stop,” and “the bassoon,” were removed, other stops being 
substituted* The keyboard was renewed* Up to that time the 
“sharps” had been white, and the “naturals” black* Then the colors 
were reversed* The keyboard formerly was inside the organ* Then 
it was drawn out farther towards the front* All this as a result of 
a conference with an expert, who urged that it would be injudicious 
to put modern improvements into an old organ, and that it would 
really be much more economical to build a new one* This is alto- 
gether in keeping with the recent experiences of our Vestry* We 
had the opinions of probably not fewer than ten to twelve representa- 
tives of organ manufacturers, and whilst every one of them recom- 
mended a new organ, not one of them would agree to undertake and 
guarantee a renovation of the old instrument* An interesting proposal 
was made in the Vestry in 1874 that a volunteer choir be formed* 
While no result followed, it is worth noticing that the proposition was 
earnestly considered* Again we find acknowledged by the Vestry at 
this time the right of the rector to direct the music, and the principle 
laid down that the choir should attend on all Sundays, on all feasts 
and fasts, when service was held, at funerals, and on such occasions 

53 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


as the rector may require* This was done probably in consequence 
of the refusal on the part of the choir to sing at funerals, on the ground 
that “when they were engaged to sing no specification of that kind was 
made” — a broad hint to succeeding Vestries* We find also at this 
period (1885) an offer to the Vestry by the Willing Subscribers' Guild 
of St* Michael's to furnish organist and choir on week days — an offer 
gratefully accepted, and the volunteer choir which now sings for the 
Lenten services is probably a survival of the praiseworthy custom then 
introduced* This brings the history of the Snetzler organ down to 
such a recent period that it does not need to be further related here 
except to say that again in 1886, after the earthquake, it was taken 
down, then replaced and repaired, and ten years later again repaired, 
until there were such evident indications of the necessity of procuring a 
new instrument that, at last, with the greatest reluctance, and only 
under the pressure of stern necessity, our Vestry took steps to have 
erected a new organ, combining with it as many as possible of the old 
pipes, and preserving the old case, with such additions only as might 
be required to accommodate the new instrument, so that there might 
be left some reminders of our “Old World organ,'' built by the worthy 
Snetzler in 1767, who was then, as it was said, “the most considerable 
and most reputable organ builder in England,'' specimens of whose 
work, I am informed, are still in use in several churches, one a 
cathedral, in the mother country, though none of these were ever sub- 
jected to the trials, tribulations and tragedies that befell our organ* 
Since this was written a member of St* Michael's has told me that 
there is another Snetzler organ in a Roman Catholic Church in 
Quebec, which he saw whilst on a visit to that city some years ago* 


after 143 
gears 


It is related somewhere that on the occasion of the visit 
to Genoa of a great virtuoso, Paganini’s violin was 
taken out of its air-tight case, re-strung and handed to 
the artist that it might once more be heard in response to the touch of 
a master hand* The artist drew the bow across the trembling strings, 
but in a moment laid down the instrument, exclaiming: “It is dead! 
The life has gone out of it!'' So it has been with our old organ, after 
its service of a hundred and forty-three years, during which, on a 
conservative estimate, based upon official reports, it has led the praises 


54 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


of St* Michael's congregation at nearly fifteen thousand Sunday 
services and five thousand services on other days; more than fifteen 
hundred times its joyful tones have conducted bridal parties from porch 
to chancel and sent them forth again smiling to the sound of its ex- 
ulting chords; more than two thousand times has it sung the requiem 
of the departed, sobbing in unison with the stricken hearts that followed 
the forms of their loved ones up the long aisle for the last time* It 
has voiced in trumpet tones the sentiments of the patriots and heroes 
who lived in the days that tried men's souls long ago ; it spake in sooth- 
ing and inspiring melody to them that worshipped here the God of our 
fathers, whilst out yonder boomed the great guns of friend and foe, 
and grim messengers of death shrieking as they fell, charged with 
destruction, into the doomed city, whose people, leaving behind all 
that they loved, became refugees throughout the Southern land; upon 
its uplifting harmonies it has borne to Heaven's mercy seat the prayers 
of wives and mothers and children for husbands and sons and fathers, 
exposed on far away battlefields or fretting their life out behind distant 
prison walls; it has sent forth its music during the incumbency of 
every President of these United States; the “Father of His Country" 
heard its sweet strains, and the great military chieftain of the Southern 
Confederacy bowed his head as it called the worshippers to their 
prayers; it has survived five wars in which our country has been in- 
volved; it has lived through great storms and tempests that have swept 
our coasts, and amid the terrible destruction wrought by earthquake it 
stood, silent indeed, but ready to respond when again its lungs should 
be inflated and its keys touched* Truly it has served us and our fore- 
fathers long and well* Generation after generation has come and 
gone, and still it has spoken to them all, exalting, comforting, inspiring, 
soothing, as it told of God's love, of the redemption that is m Christ 
Jesus, of the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, of the home of the 
soul beyond, where in wondrous harmonies rolls the new song of 
angels and of men in glad and everlasting praise* 


55 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


Zi)t Clock anb tf je plells 


-^OR MORE convenient reference a history of the Church clock 
and the chime of bells is here appended* 

They came together in 1764* The clock-maker was Aynes- 
worth Thwayts, of London* He described it as “a strong 30-hour 
clock, to show the hour four ways, to strike the hour on the largest 
bell, and the quarters on four bells, as the Royal Exchange, London*” 
For some time the quarters were struck on four bells, as designed by 
the maker, but for some unknown reason, and at some uncertain 
date, the quarters began to be struck on three bells* This continued 
up to June 6, J 896, when the old custom was restored* Until 1849 
the clock had only the hour hands, but at that time the City Council 
sought and obtained permission from the Vestry to add minute hands* 
The clock is still cared for by the City Council, which employs an 
expert for that purpose* 


m )Z PeUs 


The famous bells, eight in number, were cast by Lester 
& Pack, a London firm, in 1764, in which year they 
were also placed in the Church steeple* The total cost of the bells, to- 
gether with the expense of putting them in place, was £68 1 sterling, 
which was defrayed by a public subscription contributed to by per- 
sons both in this country and England* 

At the time of the evacuation of this City by the British in 
December, 1782, Major Traille of the Royal Artillery, claiming the 
bells as a perquisite, took them down and shipped them to London* 
The Vestry at once appealed to Sir Guy Carleton, the British com- 
mander-in-chief, for their restoration, he being in New York* The 
restoration was ordered, but meantime the bells had been carried out 
of reach, and were either in London or on the way thither* These 
facts having been ascertained, the Vestry made appeal to the British 
Secretary for War, White Hall, London, but no response appears to 
have been made to the appeal by that official* 

56 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

Following is the correspondence relating to the taking and carry- 
ing away of the bells of the Church* The first letter bears date April 
28, 1783* 

“May it please your Excellency: 

“We, the present Vestry and Church Wardens of St* Michaels 
Parish, beg leave to represent to your Excellency that the bells of St* 
Michael's Church were taken down and carried away by Major 
Traille as a Military Perquisite of the Commanding Officer of the Royal 
Artillery* 

“That, although this may be conformable to the laws and cus- 
toms of war, between Foreign Nations, yet as we conceive such laws 
and customs, especially in a war of this particular nature, may be 
restrained by express stipulation in favor of private property, differing 
widely from instances where Bells belong to the whole body of Eccle- 
siastics or Public Order, or Society connected with the State, on which 
idea and inasmuch as by the Laws of England, the Bells of a Church 
are vested in the Parishioners, and as they were purchased by Private 
Subscription of the Inhabitants, we apprehend that they should be re- 
stored as their Right secured to them by the Capitulation* We therefore 
request that your Excellency will be pleased to interfere in behalf of 
the Parish, and do us such service as may be agreeable to you**' 

The letter was signed by the Vestry, and addressed to Sir Guy 
Carleton, at New York, to be sent by the flag-ship* 

The answer to this letter is as follows: 

“New York, J8 May, 1783* 

“Gentlemen: 

“I am directed by the Commander-in-Chief to inform you that he 
has received your representation, dated the 28th of April last, con- 
cerning the Bells of St* Michael's Church in Charles Town, and I 
am further ordered to transmit the enclosed papers, from which you 
will learn what measures have been taken by him for the voluntary 
restoration of these Bells, so early as the 28th of January* Copy of 
your representation will be transmitted by the next Packet to Eng- 
land* You will find, gentlemen, by the copy of Major Traille's letter, 
addressed to the Adjutant General, that there is a bell belonging to 

57 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

the Presbyterian Meeting (house) at Charles Town, it is in the 
possession of the Commissary General, and will be delivered to any 
person duly authorized to require it/' 

Signed by M* Morgain, Secretary to the Commander-in-Chief, 
and addressed to the Vestry and Church Wardens of St Michael's* 
The papers enclosed were as follows: 

(No* U) 

ORDERS* 

“Head Quarters, 28 January, 1783* 

“The Commander-in-Chief having just received information that 
the Church Bells have been brought from Charles Town, it is his 
Orders they be immediately delivered to the Commissary General, to- 
gether with every other public or private property of the Inhabitants 
of that place, that may have been brought away, who will give his 
receipt for the same* He will prepare a Vessel as a Flag of Truce 
to carry them back with all convenient dispatch*" 

Bearing date New York, 29 January, 1783, Major Traille 
writes as follows to Brigadier-General Martin: 

“Sir: 

“Observing by the General Orders of yesterday that His Excellency 
the Commander-in-Chief is pleased to order the Church Bells of 
Charles Town to be delivered to the Commissary General, for the pur- 
pose of being returned to that place: I have the honor to acquaint you, 
as Commanding Officer of the Royal Artillery in America, for the 
information of His Excellency, the reason why the order cannot be 
complied with* 

“Soon after the reduction of Charles Town, the Ring of Bells 
belonging to St* Michael's Church were taken down by the consent 
and approbation of Earl Cornwallis and Brigadier-General Paterson, 
then Commandant of the Garrison* 

A short time had elapsed, when twenty of the principal Inhabit- 
ants entered into a Bond of Six Hundred Pounds, payable at six 
months after date, for the redemption of those bells, which I consented 

58 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

to- But t about a month before the evacuation took place (having then 
only received two hundred and forty guineas in part payment) I was 
applied to by several of the principal subscribers to the Bond, request- 
ing that I would take down the Bells and release them from (their) 
engagement entirely; upon which I thought it my duty to consult 
Lieut General Leslie and Lieut* Coll: Allen, the Commandant, and 
they both approved of my ordering them to be taken down* 

“The Ring of Bells was sent to England by the last Fleet from 
Charles Town* I have now in my possession the original Bond, as 
also a receipt in full for the money advanced me on account of it, 
which I returned* On Earl Cornwallis intimating a wish that some 
bell might be left, to give an alarm in case of fire, I gave orders that 
the bells of St* Philip's (the other English Church) might remain, 
which they did at the evacuation of the Garrison* 

“l must observe to you that Alexander Wright and James John- 
ston, Esq*, who had been to treat of some matters relating to them- 
selves, and the inhabitants, with General Greene and the Rebel Gov- 
ernor, a few days after the bells were taken down, waited on me with 
a message from the enemy in general terms, without mentioning names, 
purporting, that if I should delay sending away the bells, they would 
endeavor to raise the money to redeem them before our departure, but 
I was soon after informed by Mr* Maurice Simons, that they could not 
accomplish it* 

"So far as the general order relates to private property, I can as- 
sure you I am not possessed of any, and indeed Governor Bee's letter 
to me will clearly elucidate that matter, as far as regards myself, and 
from the strict orders I gave, I am persuaded that no person under my 
command would presume to meddle with private property, or in any 
manner infringe Lieut* General Leslie's orders on that subject* 

"I trust you will do me the justice to believe that, in the matter 
of the bells, I have not been actuated by avarice, but by a desire to 
assert that prerogative which our Corps has always maintained at 
Towns or Garrisons conquered from the enemy* 

"I hope, etc*'* 

Major Traille's next letter was addressed to Colonel Delancey, 
Adjutant General, informing him that the only bell belonging to Charles 

59 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

Town still in New York at that time was the small bell belonging to 
the “Presbyterian Meeting/' He continues: “The Ring of Bells be- 
longing to St* Michael's Church were eight in number* They varied 
considerably in size* I am sorry it is not in my power to give you 
the dimensions* Those bells were sent home in the ship Flora, Fran- 
cis Ayrsom, master, and consigned to Mr* Robert Grant, at the house 
of Robert Grant, Esq*, Warwick Court, Warwick Lane, London*" 

The fourth enclosure consisted of a letter, 15 March, 1783, from 
Sir Guy Carleton to the Rt* Hon* Thomas Townshend: 

“New York, March 15th, 1783* 

“Sir: 

“I inclose copies of two letters from Major Traille, commanding 
the Royal Artillery at Charles Town, in one of which was inclosed a 
copy of a letter from Mr* Bee, late Governor of North Carolina, to 
Major Traille, which I also inclose* These letters refer to an order 
for the restoration of the Church Bells of Charles Town, but you will 
see. Sir, that they have been sent to England, and are, of course, sub- 
ject to any determination you may please to take concerning them* I 
inclose the order for Restitution*" 

To resume the thread of the narrative* A Mr* Rhyiner, a 
merchant, formerly of this City, purchased the bells and shipped them 
back to Charleston, where they arrived November 20, 1783, not quite 
a year after they had been taken and carried away* It is related in 
Johnson's Traditions of the Revolution that when the bells were landed 
on the wharf, the overjoyed citizens took possession of them and with- 
out waiting to ascertain how or by whom they had been returned, 
hurried them up to the Church and into the steeple* Mr* Rhyiner, 
however, in June, 1785, applied to the Vestry for reimbursement, but 
the Vestry at that time disclaimed having interfered in any shape in 
the matter, and said to Mr* Rhyiner that he was at liberty to do what 
he pleased with the bells* Later, in December, 1787, they ordered a 
subscription opened to pay for them, but there is no record of the re- 
sult* At all events, the bells remained in the steeple, summoning the 
people to worship on Sundays and other Holy Days, sounding fire 
alarms, and ringing at seven and nine o'clock in winter, and at eight 
and ten o'clock in summer — this being known as “the evening bell" — 


60 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

a custom continued, except for a brief interval during and immediately 
after the War 1861-1865, until September 7, 1882, when, by order of 
City Council, the ringing of the evening bell ceased* 

In 1838, two of the bells, having become cracked, were sent to 
England and recast* After the Battle of Secessionville, in June, 1862, 
the bells were taken down from the steeple and sent to Columbia, 
where they were stored on the State House grounds* They remained 
there until February, 1865, when in the conflagration started by Sher- 
man's army, the shed in which they were stored was burnt and the 
bells were melted, in whole or in part* The fragments were soon after 
gathered, and the next year sent to Messrs* Mears & Stainback, suc- 
cessors to Lester & Pack, who recast at least five of them out of the 
same amalgam as that entering into the original bells, and in moulds 
made with the same trammels* They reached Charleston in Febru- 
ary, 1867, with an import duty of $2,200 levied upon them* The 
Church not having the necessary funds, an appeal to the public was 
made, which met with a liberal response, and on Thursday, 31 March, 
1867, the bells announced their return to their ancient place and duty 
by playing “Home again! Home again! From a foreign shore,” to 
the delight of many grateful hearts* Congress, by Act June 8, 1878, 
refunded the duty collected on the bells* 

Appropriate action was taken by the Vestry in acknowledgment 
and appreciation of the services of those who exerted themselves to 
procure the passage of the Act authorizing the refunding of the duties 
levied upon the bells* The following resolution was adopted by the 
Vestry, and copies ordered to be sent by the secretary to each of the 
persons named, July 19, 1879: 

“Resolved, That the thanks of St* Michael's be given to Mr* 
E* C* Kinnear of Dover, N* H*, Senators J* B* Gordon of Georgia and 
M* C* Butler of South Carolina, and to Representatives Frank Jones 
of New Hampshire, D* Wyatt Aiken, John H* Evins and M* P* 
O'Connor of South Carolina, for their invaluable services and co- 
operation, by which we were enabled to have returned to us the 
duties paid on the bells of this Church in 1867, and also to Repre- 
sentative James Phelps for his prompt and courteous consideration 
of the claim when it was referred to him*” 


61 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

As a token of special recognition for the aid given by Mr* E* C* 
Kinnear, a silver cup was presented to him, of which he thus speaks 
in a communication to the Fargo, N* D*, newspaper, he having re- 
moved meanwhile to that city* Mr*i Kinnear writes: “Soon after 
(the refunding of the duties on the bells) I received from the Church 
as a memorial, a magnificent silver cup, bearing upon its side an ex- 
quisite engraving of one of the bells, with the following legend: "St* 
Michael's Church of Charleston, S* C*, to E* C* Kinnear, June 26, 
1879*' On the opposite side is engraved the seal of the Church, con- 
sisting of the front facade of the Church ; also its Latin motto, "Discite 
non temnere Deo,' and "St* Michael's, 1751*'" * * * 

Mr* Kinnear, in concluding his narrative, adds: ""In July, 1890, 
the First Congregational Church of Fargo, N* D*, which is my church 
home, was wrecked by the fearful gale of that date* When the 
people of St* Michael's heard of it, with characteristic generosity they 
forwarded by draft on New York, a very liberal sum to aid in the 
building of a new Church*" 

Time passed, and the bells continued their task until August 31, 
1886, when an earthquake caused the clock to stop, damaged the 
Church so seriously that at first it was considered beyond repair, and 
inflicted injuries in the City amounting to several millions of dollars* 
The following By-Law adopted by the Vestry gives the details 
regulating the ringing of the bells: 

Bells* — The bells of the Church shall be rung for church services 
as they are now rung, and for other than church purposes they may 
be rung by the proper civil authorities at their expense without special 
permission, at such times during the day as they may think proper 
on the following days, viz*: On the 22d February, 28th June and 4th 
July, provided they do not interfere with any church service* 

They shall be rung on Christmas and Easter, Thanksgiving Day, 
and tolled on Good Friday at sunrise, mid-day (or immediately after 
church service, if any) and at sunset (or immediately after church 
service, if any), fifteen minutes each* Also on Confederate Memorial 
Day during the decoration services* 

For ten minutes before midnight of the 31st of December the bells 


62 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


shall toll the old year out, and for ten minutes immediately thereafter 
ring the New Year in* 

They shall be tolled on the death of the Bishop of this Diocese 
or that of the presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United 
States, as soon as practicable after receipt of the news of their death, 
for one hour, and also on the day of their funerals, respectively, at sun- 
rise, midday and sunset, thirty minutes each* 

On the death of the rector or assistant minister of this Church, 
fifteen minutes — at the times above designated for the Bishop of this 
Diocese* 

On the death of the rector or assistant minister of any P* E* 
Church in this City, in full connection with the Convention, without 
bells of its own, the same as for the rector of this Church, if the use of 
the bells be requested by such Church* 

On the death of the President of the United States or the Governor 
of the State of South Carolina, one hour, as soon as practicable after 
the receipt of the intelligence, and also for one hour on the day of the 
funeral* 

The bells shall not be rung or tolled on any other occasion, ex- 
cept as authorized at a called meeting of the Vestry, and by a majority 
vote of two-thirds of those present 


“THE BELLS OF ST* MICHAEL'S*” 


By Frank L* Stanton* 

“Great joy it was to hear them, for they sang sweet songs to me. 
Where the sheltered ships rock gently in the haven, safe from sea. 
And the captains and the sailors heard no more the ocean's knells. 
But thanked God for home and loved ones and sweet St* Michael's 
bells* 


“They seemed to waft a welcome across the ocean's foam 
To all the lost and lonely, "Come come, come home, come home! 
Come home where skies are brighter, where love still yearns and 

dwells!' it i ii 

So sang the bells in music— the sweet St* Michael s bells* 

“Oh, ring, sweet bells, forever, an echo in my breast. 

Soft as a mother's voice that lulls her loved one into rest! 

Ring welcome to the hearts at home— to me your sad farewells 
When I sleep the last sleep dreaming of sweet St* Michaels bells! 


63 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


penef actions anb <§tfts 


*#J*ROM the first St* Michael's has been the recipient of numerous 
gifts and benefactions* 

^ When St Michael's Parish was established under the Act 
of the General Assembly of 1751, it was stated in the Preamble of 
the Act, that the reason for so doing was the insufficiency of the 
Parish Church of St* Philip to accommodate those desiring to wor- 
ship there, which made it necessary to divide the said Parish and erect 
another house of worship* St* Michael's Parish, to consist of all 
that part of the City to the southward of the middle of Broad Street, 
was then authorized to be established* 

Prior to this, in 1698, Mrs* Affra Coming had left to the minister 
of St* Philip's Parish, and his successors, certain land on what are 
now Wentworth, Beaufain, St* Philip and Glebe Streets, which after- 
wards became vested in the Parish itself* It was regarded as only 
equitable that the new Parish of St* Michael should receive a half 
interest in this Glebe property, and after the Act of 1791 constituting 
the Vestries and Church Wardens of St* Philip and St* Michael's 
as two separate and distinct bodies politic and corporate, negotiations 
were entered into looking to such a division* It was not, however, 
until 1797 that the division was finally made, St* Michael's share 
being fifteen lots of land valued at £2,632 currency, as we learn from 
the “old Vestry book*" A portion of this property has since been 
sold to the Board of School Commissioners of the City* It adjoined 
the grounds of the Memminger Normal School, and was necessary to 
enable the Commissioners to provide additional accommodations for 
that growing institution of learning* 

Mrs* Eliza Kohne, then a resident of Philadelphia, left a legacy 
to “the Vestry and Wardens of St* Michael's Church," of $10,000*00* 
The legacy was paid over to the Treasurer of the Church by her 
executors 22 May, 1855* Vestry Book No* 2 states the amount paid 
over, with interest, less expenses, as $10,778*49* The Treasurer of the 


64 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

Church reported that he had paid a bond of the Church amounting 
to $8, 1 34*76, and had purchased City stock for $2,652*47, together 
making $1 0,787*23, almost the exact amount of the legacy* The 
next year $2,700*00 of City stock was used to pay cost of Church 
repairs* This seems to explain what use was made of the Kohne 
legacy* 

S* S* Bucklin, for his wife, Mary Frances Cross, remits $t, 000*00 
as her gift to St* Michael's Church in 1871, Mrs* Bucklin being then 
recently deceased* 

In 1892 Mr* Alex* W* Marshall, as executor, turned over to the 
Vestry and Wardens of the Church the proceeds of legacies left by 
Misses Emma S* and Eusebia M* Greenland, consisting of a house 
and lot on Meeting Street, State stock and cash, aggregating 
$12,344*03; the house being valued at $4,500*00* 

In 1907 Mr* Charles Kiddell bequeathed to the Church his one- 
half (undivided) interest in premises Nos* 2 and 4 Court House 
Square, subject to certain conditions not necessary to specify here, 
relating to his sister's life estate in said premises, an amount at present 
indeterminable* 

In addition to these and other gifts previously mentioned, it is 
due the donors to place on record the following list of plate, furnish- 
ings and ornaments presented to the Church in more recent times* 

In 1892 Dr* Francis Lejau Frost, for himself and Mrs* Frost, 
presented the Holy Table and Credence now (1915) in use, the 
former as a memorial to their son Pringle, and the latter to their son 
Edward* 

At the same time Mrs* Andrew Simonds presented the reading 
desk now in use* 

At the Vestry meeting 30 June, 1892, Dr* Frost, for himself, his 
brothers and sisters, requested and obtained leave to present the 
Chancel window in memoriam of the Hon* Edward Frost and Mrs* 
Harriet VanderHorst Horry, his wife, their parents* 

In 1897, December 30, Mrs* Sarah Calhoun Simonds requested 
and obtained leave to place a window, “Easter Morning, in memory 
of her daughter, Sarah Simonds Simons— now in place near the 
northeast corner of the Church* 


65 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

In 1896 Mrs* Simonds presented the Litany desk now in use, 
in memory of her grandson, Edward A* Simons, Jr* 

In 1899 she also presented a silver christening ewer, in memory 
of her granddaughter, Martha Goodwyn Simonds* 

In 1900 Mr* Charles Kiddell, for his sister and himself, presented 
a silver christening bowl, in memoriam of their sister Anna Hall 
Kiddell* 

In 1908 the children of Mrs* Sarah Calhoun Simonds presented 
the window, "The Annunciation,” on the north side of the Church, 
in memory of their mother* 

In 1896 Mr* and Mrs* A* Markley Lee presented a pair of brass 
candlesticks for use in the chancel, "in commemoration of the Faith- 
ful Departed*” 

In 1905 Mrs* B* F* Alston gave a complete set of communion 
silver for use in administering communion to the sick, in memory of 
her father, the Hon* Charles H* Simonton* 

The Misses Sass gave altar linen and antependia for the Advent 
season, beautifully embroidered, together with a chalice veil for use 
during the same season* 

Besides these individual gifts, the several Guilds of the Church 
have presented the following, viz*: The General Guild gave the 
door opening on the south side of the Church, in 1896* In 1915, Mr* 
Edwin P* Frost obtained the approval of the Vestry to replace the de- 
sign of this door by another which was submitted to and approved by 
them, in commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the present 
rector's service in St* Michael's, to be observed December 19 of the 
current year* 

In 1899 the General Guild gave the screen in the main vestibule 
of the Church* 

Epiphany Guild, which has charge of the chancel in particular* 
gave in 1893 the cross on the retable of the altar, and the vases used 
for flowers: in 1908 the silver ciborium: in 1905 a silver baptismal 
shell, besides beautiful antependia for altar, desk and pulpit, and vest- 
ments for the rector* 

Mr* Edwin P* Frost, in 1906, gave the fixtures for the electric 
lights in use in the chancel* 


66 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

The Lenten Sewing Society, replaced the cone on the pulpit 
canopy in commemoration of Miss Elizabeth Frost Parker* 

In 19 11 Miss E* W* Lowder, of New Jersey, presented two hand- 
some silver goblets “to be used for flowers on Festivals*” 

In 1910 Mr* Henry E* Young gave the portrait of his father* 
It has been hung in the Sunday-school room because of his deep in- 
terest in that department of the Church's work* 

In 1911 Miss Sarah E* White, a former parishioner, made a gift 
of $500*00 to the Church, her motive being, as she expressed it, “her 
devotion to the old Church, and her love for her dear ones buried in 
the churchyard*” 

There should also be included here the statement that in addition 
to the silver given by Governor Boone, a chalice was presented by 
Elias Horry, Esqr*, in 1816, and a christening bowl by Miss Ann 
McPherson in 1819* This plate was all sent to Columbia during 
the war 1861-1865, for safe-keeping, and was lost during Sherman's 
occupation, when so large a part of that city was destroyed, only one 
flagon and one paten having been recovered, belonging to the set pre- 
sented by Governor Boone in 1762* The Hon* Alexander W* Brad- 
ford, of New York, noticing the flagon in a pawn shop in that city, 
bought it and sent it back to the Church* It was then minus the 
cover, but Mr* Holmes states on the authority of Mr* James M* Wil- 
son, then a member of St* Michael's, that the cover was subsequently 
returned from some point in the State of Ohio* 

In addition to this, the Church Communion plate now consists 
of two chalices of silver, lined with gold, a large paten, formerly be- 
longing to St* George's Church, Dorchester, presented by Richard 
Lathers, Esqr*, in 1871; another, “the gift of Henry Middleton to St* 
George's Dorchester in 1755,” and presented to St* Michael's by Henry 
A* Middleton, Esqr*, 1871, and another, silver, lined with gold, the 
gift of Mr* and Mrs* Eugene P* Jervey, and the large silver alms 
basin, now used to receive the Sunday offerings, also Mr* Jervey's 
gift 


67 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


g>t. fflitbatV* aitfjf ul Haity 

®(jeir <®oob ©eebs; fecftooU far Caloreb |)eraona 


•^ROM the clergy who have ministered in St* Michaels it is natu- 
ral to turn to those laymen who have served the Church faith- 
fully and well throughout the generations* To speak of them 
fully as they deserve would involve the preparation of a large volume, 
but fortunately this having been done by others, does not need to be re- 
peated here* Their names, preserved within and without these walls 
and on the pages of our records are, many of them, written high and 
large upon the pages of the history of our State and country* Learned 
jurists, eminent lawyers and medical men, prominent statesmen, gen- 
tlemen of distinction in almost every walk of life, they gave freely 
of their time and thought to the interests of the Church, not alone to 
St* Michael's, but to that larger body, the Church in South Carolina, 
and that body, larger still, the Church in the United States, as the 
earlier records show* Devoted to St* Michael's, theirs was no narrow 
conception of its relation to the great “Body of Christ" throughout all 
the world, nor of its mission to extend the bounds of His Kingdom, 
for almost from the first we may read of generous gifts from this 
Church to missions at home and abroad* Times have changed, and 
we also, but these men, whose descendants many of us are, in their 
loyalty to the Church, in their fearless and upstanding allegiance, in 
their large benefactions, and in their devising of liberal things for 
the cause of Christ, make strong appeal to us in our time to emulate 
these characteristics and care for the great and precious heritage they 
have left us* Nor can we forget the many noble women who in- 
conspicuously but most diligently have, from the early days of our 
history, contributed of their prayers, their thought, their time and 
means, to illustrate and adorn Christian character and make Christian 
service honorable and influential for good* Verily, ours it a goodly 
heritage, viewed from whatever standpoint, and ours will be the blame 
and the shame if we shall permit it to suffer loss or for any cause im- 


68 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

pair its record in respect of either devotion to the God of our fathers, 
or of zeal for the Church which is the pillar and stay of the truth* 

In the earlier records from 1820 onward until the war (1861-1865) 
we find frequent references to Sunday Schools, and, at times, of other 
schools in the parish for the instruction of persons of color belonging 
to the Church, to which the ministers and earnest laymen and women 
gave their services from the highest and best of motives* Nor was 
St* Michael's singular in this respect* St* Philip's is entitled to similar 
credit, and outside of the City in other parishes, like work was done 
by devout and devoted men and women seeking to do the Master's 
will, as they conceived it* The white children, of course, were not 
forgotten* Others instructed them in the “principles of the doctrine 
of Christ," and so far back as 1822, there are reported sixteen teachers 
and seventy-two children in the white school, and fourteen teachers 
and fifty children in the school for negroes* In 1825, it may be men- 
tioned here, out of 450 communicants, 110 were colored, while the 
whole number of souls was nearly twelve hundred, twice our present 
number* 

Surely, an honorable roll and record of interest and devotion is 
this brief mention of St* Michael's workers, the men and the women 
who throughout the generations have been active in Church and 
Sunday School, and have recognized the duty of service and the fact of 
their stewardship by giving of their time and substance to the ad- 
vancing of God's Kingdom* 


69 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


g>t. Jftltctjaers an& tfje Communttp 


EFERENCE must be made to the relation of St* Michael's to 
the City, a relation that has made it in an unique sense and 
manner the Church of the community* Before it was even 
nearly finished, the Masons attended a service here, December 27, 
1758, the feast of St John the Evangelist, conducted by the “Rev* 
Mister Martyn," then rector of St* Andrew's Parish* In the yard, as 
far back as 1762, the City kept a fire engine and fire buckets, and until 
the present fire alarm system was inaugurated a watch was kept 
in the tower, from which, at every quarter hour the time of night 
was announced, ending with the comforting assurance “and all is 
well*" Whenever a fire was discovered, the bell would be clamor- 
ously rung, while a lantern at the end of a long pole would be hung 
from the balcony pointing towards the scene of the fire* Evening 
bells were rung for many years at seven and nine o'clock in the 
winter, and eight and ten in the summer, and not until September, 
1882, was the custom discontinued, except during a part of the war- 
period, 1861-1865* 

The installation of the present fire alarm system rendered it 
necessary to discontinue the practice of ringing the evening bells, in 
the judgment of the City Council, since to continue it would manifestly 
have produced confusion* Hence, from and after September 9, 1882, 
the old custom was abolished* 

The custom of ringing evening bells prevailed as early as 1794* 
There is a reference to them in the Minutes of the Vestry meeting of 
September 11 of that year, by which it appears that they were rung 
“by desire of the City Council*" It has been found impossible, owing 
to the destruction of the proceedings of the City Council prior to 1865, 
to ascertain when this custom was established* What is known with 
certainty about the ringing of these bells is that they were rung from 
September to March at 7 p* m* and 9 p* m*, and from March to Sep- 
tember at 8 p* m* and 10 p* m* More than likely, the earlier bell ring- 

70 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

ing was the curfew, so long rung in England, while the later bell was 
the signal for slaves and other persons of color to repair to their respec- 
tive homes* This is made evident by the following extract taken from 
a volume of City Ordinances in force in 1844, now in the office of the 
Clerk of City Council* The Ordinance referred to under the head of 
"City Guard” (pp* 97 and 98), dates from September 17, 1821, and 
is as follows, viz*: 


“Whereas, It is deemed expedient to suppress the practice of beat- 
ing the drum, at or after tattoo, in the streets* 

Be it Ordained, That from and after Sept* 20 inst*, the following 
regulations respecting beats of the drum and ringing of the bell, are 
made of force : The 7 o clock bell shall be rung as customary, and 
instead of the signal heretofore communicated for the retirement of 
slaves and free persons of color to their homes, by the drum being sent 
to the residence of His Excellency the Governor and the intendant, these 
notices shall be given, to- wit: Fifteen minutes before 9 o'clock, the 
taps of the drum shall be given at the Main Guard House, at which 
moment the bell at St* Michael's will commence ringing, and continue 
to ring until nine, when on the bell ceasing, the tattoo will be beaten 
at the Main and the Picquet Guard House for ten minutes, after which 
the sentinels will be posted and patrols dispatched as usual*” 

On Christmas and New Year's, Washington's Birthday, June 28, 
the anniversary of the Battle of Fort Moultrie, and July 4th, the bells 
are rung regularly, while on many special occasions they have been 
rung or tolled, as on Queen Victoria's Jubilee, 21 June, 1887, Gala 
Week, when the City is full of visitors, during the funerals of dis- 
tinguished persons, as Commodore Ingraham, October 21, 1891, on 
the occasion of the unveiling of the Washington Light Infantry monu- 
ment in the City Hall Park, on Memorial Day, May 10th, and on 
many other occasions in which the community at large is interested* 
Here have been delivered patriotic addresses and panegyrics, 
here held special services for the benefit of the community, such as 
that on the occasion of Queen Victoria's death, and here, continuously, 
(see Dalcho), from 1791 until 1837, the meetings of the Diocesan Con- 
vention were held, and quite often in after years* Here Philharmonic 
Societies have sung oratorios, the proceeds going to charitable pur- 

71 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

poses, and here at the call of the Gty authorities, November 19 , 1863, 
a Thanksgiving service was held, while deadly missiles from Morris 
Island plowed up the streets and devastated buildings, public and pri- 
vate, in the near vicinity* Thus, in so many ways, and for so many 
years, St* Michael's has been closely identified with the civic life of 
Charleston, while today its veteran clock is still regulated and cared 
for by the City authorities that, with some degree of accuracy, the 
people might know the time of day or night as they go on their several 
ways* It would be interesting to calculate how many hundreds 
every day glance up to the clock in the steeple as they hurry by* In 
what may rightly be termed a special sense, St* Michaels is regarded 
by visitors, as well as by our own citizens, as the Church of this 
Gty, i* e*, as the community's church, so to speak, and certainly for 
far longer than any other has it kept watch and ward over the town 
and pointed its people to the skies* 

The rector's address on the occasion of the celebration of the 
150th anniversary of the opening of the Church, delivered January 
29 , \ 9 \\, concluded as follows: 

Who, without emotion, can contemplate such a history as this, 
as he passes in review what this building has witnessed? The great 
struggle for American Independence had not then begun, though mut- 
terings of the storm soon to follow were not unheard one hundred and 
fifty years ago* The work of the French Encyclopaedists, culminat- 
ing in the French Revolution of 1793, was stirring the hearts of the 
liberty-loving, and paving the way for revolt* The star of Napoleon's 
destiny was yet far below the eastern horizon* The great West was 
a land as unknown as the approaches to the poles north and south* 
Indian trails were then the only paths into the wilderness, while the 
rivers were the only real highways into the interior* A half century 
and more elapsed ere the first locomotive whistle was heard, and more 
than three quarters of a century before the electric telegraph flashed 
its first message* When the first steamship plowed the waves, St* 
Michael's had already attained a respectable age* It has witnessed a 
growth in population in the United States from a trifle more than three 
millions to more than ninety millions, and in South Carolina from 
two hundred thousand to more than a million and a half* And who 


72 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

can estimate the amount of human interest that attaches to this ven- 
erable edifice during this century and a half of its existence ; the 
emotions that have swept the heart strings of the multitudes that have 
thronged these courts of the Lord's house; the fervent resolutions of 
amendment of life, the uplift of soul as the riches of God's grace were 
portrayed by eloquent divines on fire with their message, or as the 
kneeling thousands drew near to the mercy seat to receive the broken 
Body and shed Blood of the Saviour, the pledges of love divine; the 
pangs of them that have mourned in this holy place whilst the last 
offices were performed ere loved ones were laid away in their narrow 
homes awaiting the general resurrection in the last day and the life 
of the world to come? 

“Brethren, this priceless heritage is ours* It must not suffer loss 
at our hands* There is too much here that is precious beyond words, 
constraining beyond expression, inspiring beyond description, for us 
to permit it to become less the witness for God and His Truth, the 
medium of men's salvation, the nursing mother of redeemed souls* 
Here then, and now, let us pledge ourselves anew to the maintenance 
of the faith that this Church was built to enshrine, and resolve, that 
in the generations to come, it shall be said of us “they fought a good 
fight, they kept the faith*" 


73 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


jHuftaeTs: anti tfje Jftotfjer Country 


/ 7ff 'HAT the sentiments binding St* Michael's to the old home of 
many of the fathers of the congregation, in the early days of 
its history, have not been discarded by lapse of time, change of 
government, or even war itself, is a fact sufficiently vouched for by 
action taken at various times and on occasions when an expression 
of interest and sympathy seemed peculiarly appropriate* There was 
nothing of sycophancy or magnifying of self or self-seeking in this* 
Rather it all flowed out of the feeling that as Churchmen everywhere 
recognize the Archbishop of Canterbury as the Primate of the Anglican 
Communion, of which the American Episcopal Church is a part, so 
they respect the ruling sovereign of England as the titular and tradi- 
tional “Defender of the Faith/' in virtue of his official position* This 
feeling was intensified in our case because, as will be remembered. 
Queen Victoria, on the occasion of the great earthquake of 1886, sent 
to President Cleveland the following message: “I desire to express 
my profound sympathy with the sufferers by the late earthquake, 
and await with anxiety fuller intelligence, which I hope may show 
the effects to have been less disastrous than expected*" The memory of 
that overwhelming event was still fresh in the minds of the people of 
this City, and when the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, June 22, 1897, ar- 
rived, the Vestry of St* Michael's met and requested the rector to frame 
a letter to her Majesty expressive of the sentiments of the Parish on the 
occasion* The following was engrossed and forwarded through our 
Department of State: “The Colonial Parish of St* Michael, Charleston, 
extends its best wishes to Victoria, Queen and Empress, on the 
occasion of her glorious jubilee, and prays that it may mark the con- 
tinuance of the era of peace and good-will among all the families of 
the English-speaking peoples of the world, who unite in venerating 
her as woman and sovereign*" 


74 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

In due course the following: acknowledgment of St ♦ Michael’s 
message was received, dated at the Foreign Office, London, July 2, 
1897: 

“Sir: 

I have received and laid before the Queen the Address to Her 
Majesty from the Colonial Parish of St* Michael’s, Charleston, on 
the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of Her Majesty’s accession 
to the throne* 

“I have now the honor to inform your Excellency that I am com- 
manded by the Queen to request you to express to the Reverend 
John Kershaw, Rector of St* Michael’s, Charleston, the Queen’s sin- 
cere thanks for the kind expressions of goodwill which are contained 
in this address, and to convey to him the Queen’s best wishes for 
the welfare and prosperity of the Colonial Parish of St* Michael* 

“I have the honor to be, &c*, 

“SALISBURY*” 

When the tidings of the death of her Majesty, Queen Victoria, 
reached this country, the two venerable societies of this City, St* 
George’s and St* Andrew’s, requested that a special memorial service 
should be held in the Church at noon, February 2, 1901* The re- 
quest was gladly complied with, and arrangements were made befit- 
ting the occasion* In addition to the two societies mentioned, an invi- 
tation was extended to all the clergy of the city, to the Mayor and 
Aldermen and other City officials, to the foreign consuls resident in 
the City, to the officers of other civic societies, and of the several 
commercial bodies* The procession formed in the churchyard, the 
clergy in their vestments at the head of it, followed by the members 
of the Society of St* George and the Society of St* Andrew, and they 
by other invited officials* Precisely at the hour of noon, the bells be- 
gan to toll, as on the occasion of her Majesty’s accession sixty-four 
years before they had rung out a joyful peal, and the procession entered 
the Church, the great congregation which filled the building rising 
and uniting in the hymn, “I heard a sound of voices*” Appropriate 
parts of the burial service were read, and prayers said for those in 
affliction, and for the King upon whom the mantle of his mother had 

75 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

fallen* No address was delivered, as it was felt that none was needed, 
but that the expressions of mingled sorrow and hope taken from the 
Church's ritual sufficed to convey the sentiments of those present on 
this occasion of world-wide interest 

A special meeting of the Vestry was called May 16 , 19 JO, to take 
cognizance of the death of his Majesty, King Edward VII* 

The following preamble and resolutions were adopted and ordered 
engrossed and sent through the Department of State to the Queen 
Dowager and King George V*: 

“The tidings of the death of King Edward, May 7, 1910, have 
evoked expressions of universal regret* In him the world has lost an 
earnest advocate of peace, the British Empire a wise and beloved 
sovereign, the United States a cordial ally and friend, his family an 
affectionate husband and head, the Anglican Communion one whose 
broad, generous and liberal sentiments have aided in widening the 
sphere of its influence, and enlarging the vision of its mission* The 
Vestry and Wardens of St* Michael's for themselves and as represent- 
ing the congregation, and mindful of the ties that in earlier years 
so closely bound this Church to the Mother Church of England, and 
this Colony and Province to the Mother Country and its Monarchs ; — 
ties that still bind us in sentiment with the rulers, the Church and the 
people of England — ; desire to place on record some expression, how- 
ever inadequate, of their appreciation of the character and services to 
mankind of the deceased King, and of their sympathy with his 
widowed Queen, their children and grandchildren; 

“Therefore Resolved (1), That in common with our fellowmen 
everywhere, we sorrow because a friend of peace, a lover of men, a 
prudent ruler, has been lost to mankind through the death of King 
Edward VII* 

“Resolved (2), That we tender our sincere and respectful sympa- 
thies to the Queen Dowager, to her august son, now King George 
V*, and to the other surviving kindred and descendants of the great 
and good Victoria, Queen and Empress* 

“Resolved (3), That as an additional mark of respect the bells of 
the Church be tolled on the day and during the hours set for the 
funeral services of the late King* 


76 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

“Resolved (4), That this Minute and the resolutions accompany- 
ing: be spread upon the Minute Book of the Vestry, and that copies 
of the same be forwarded through the proper official channels to his 
Majesty, the reigning King, and the Queen Dowager/' 

The action contemplated in the last resolution was duly taken, 
and in course of time the Secretary of the Vestry received from the 
acting Secretary of State in Washington a letter under date of July 
27, J9J0, in which he says: “You are informed that the Department 
is in receipt of a despatch from the American Ambassador at London 
in which he states that King George has commanded the Secretary 
of State for Foreign Affairs to convey to the Wardens and Vestry of 
St* Michael's through the Embassy and the Department, his own and 
Queen Alexandra's sincere thanks and appreciation of the kind mes- 
sage of sympathy to them in their bereavement/' 


77 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


®t)e £s>eg()ut=centenntal gnntbersar y 

17614911 


/W'S THE time approached for the one hundred and fiftieth anni- 
versary of the opening of St* Michael's for Divine worship, 
much interest was manifested and a general desire felt that it 
should be appropriately celebrated* So much the more, because its cen- 
tennial had come at a time when there was little room in the hearts and 
thoughts of our people except for the great civil strife then impending 
and casting its shadows before* After due consideration, the Vestry de- 
cided that the event was worthy to be signalized, and they appointed a 
committee to make arrangements for a becoming celebration* This 
committee consisted of the Rector and Mr* Edwin P* Frost, Mr* Charles 
R* Valk, and Mr* Henry W* Conner* The day elected was Sunday, 
January 29, 1911 , that being the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, 
on which day, according to the Church's Calendar, the first service 
was held in 1761, although by the civil calendar the date was not 
January 29th, but February 1st* The committee recommended that 
there should be three services held that day; the Holy Communion at 
7:30 a* m*; Morning Prayer and Sermon, with a special Thanksgiving 
and Te Deum at 11 a* m*; Evening Prayer and Sermon by the Rt* 
Rev* William Alexander Guerry, D* D*, the Bishop of the Diocese* 
It was resolved to make the latter service one more especially for the 
community, and to it were invited the clergy of the City, irrespective of 
denominational affiliation, the Mayor and Members of the City Coun- 
cil, and other City officials, the Wardens and Vestrymen of the several 
Episcopal Churches in the City, and the public in general, the mem- 
bers of St* Michael's Vestry being a reception committee for the occa- 
sion, and acting as ushers* A handsome booklet containing the full 
service to be used both morning and evening was printed and dis- 
tributed in the pews, nearly all of which were taken and preserved as 
interesting mementoes of the occasion* The two daily papers of the 

78 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

Gty devoted much space to the celebration, and the account that follows 
is to a large extent compiled from their columns* By way of intro- 
duction, the opening paragraph in one of them read as follows: 

"The commemoration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary 
of the opening of St* Michael's Church for Divine worship, which took 
place in this City yesterday, was an event of interest and importance 
not only to Episcopalians in Charleston, but throughout the State, and 
in many portions of the country* Charleston is known throughout 
the length and breadth of the land for a host of things which go to 
make a community famous and admired* But it is perhaps not alto- 
gether wrong to say that "The Gty by the Sea" owes to old St* 
Michael's much of the impression it has created on the minds of 
strangers during the past fifty years* The grand old edifice alone has 
attracted thousands of visitors to the City who were eager to see at 
first hand a building which has seen the country's most renowned men 
come and go, and with which the history of a large City and a sov- 
ereign State are closely interwoven. 

"The anniversary celebration yesterday in St* Michael's Church 
took the form of three services, one in the morning, at which the Holy 
Communion was commemorated, one at noon, featured by an historical 
sketch of St* Michael's Parish by the rector, the Rev* Dr* John Ker- 
shaw, and the last one at 8 o'clock in the evening, at which the Rt* 
Rev* Bishop W* A* Guerry delivered a strong sermon* 

"Church Crowded* — The Church was crowded to its capacity 
during the evening services* Hundreds had gathered in the Church, 
eager to participate in the interesting ceremonies* The noon service 
also attracted a large crowd, while at the early celebration there were 
many present to receive the sacrament* No elaborate attempts were 
made at decoration* 

"Seats were reserved in the front part of the Church during the 
evening service for the members of the Charleston clergy of all de- 
nominations. The Episcopal ministers occupied positions within the 
chancel rail, and were as follows: Bishop Guerry, Dr. John Kershaw 
of St. Michael's Church, the Rev. R. M. Marshall, the Rev. S. Cary 
Beckwith, the Rev. F. H. Harding, and the Rev. P. D. Hay of 
Hardeeville. The Wardens and Vestrymen of the various Episcopal 

79 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

Churches were also seated in the front section of the edifice, together 
with Mayor R* Goodwyn Rhett and a number of Aldermen of the 
Qty corporation* Special invitations had been issued to these Church 
and City dignitaries, and to the public in general by the Vestry Board 
of St* Michael's Church* 

“The Music* — The music at both noon and evening service was 
presented by the regular choir of the Church, augmented by a number 
of the City's best singers, under the direction of Mr* Arthur L* Speis- 
segger, Jr*, organist* 

“The musical programme contained several beautiful numbers 
by Schumann, Schnecker and Gounod, all of which were well rendered 
by the large choir* The noon service held special interest for many 
members of the congregation of St* Michael's Church, for the reason 
that the rebuilt organ for the first time sounded forth its mellow strains 
on that occasion* 

“Mid-Day Service* — Dr* Kershaw, at the noon service, gave a 
brief, but very interesting, resume/ of the work and history of St* 
Michael's Parish* Although necessarily short, the address was thor- 
oughly enjoyable in every respect, and showed considerable research 
and thought* Dr* Kershaw, it is understood, will prepare for the 
Church, upon the request of the Vestry, a complete and lengthy history 
of the Church from its foundation* Bishop Guerry, immediately upon 
the conclusion of the address, congratulated the congregation of St* 
Michael's because of the occasion* He stated that the anniversary 
could not be better celebrated than if the congregation resolved to develop 
a branch mission during the coming years* Bishop Guerry stated that 
the St* Michael's Mission started some time ago by the Church mem- 
bers could be developed and be made a strong factor for good in the 
lives of citizens living in and near the Navy Yard* The collection 
taken up at the evening service will be devoted to the missions of the 
Diocese* 

“Handsomely printed programmes were arranged for the celebra- 
tions, printed on heavy paper, and complete in every detail* They 
will prove themselves an interesting souvenir of an event which pos- 
sessed so general and marked an interest to the people of Charleston* 

“Bishop's Address* — Bishop Guerry's sermon was as forceful and 
thoughtful as it was elegantly expressed* He took for his text the 


80 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

parable of the mustard seed, and showed at the outset of his sermon 
that the Kingdom of God presents two aspects to the minds of men* 
'The Kingdom of God is within you/ said the Lord* 'The Kingdom 
of God/ said St* Paul, 'is not meat and drink, but righteousness and 
peace and joy in the Holy Ghost/ Here we have the two aspects of 
the Kingdom — the one showing it as being within us; the other show- 
ing it as an external, visible, concrete, corporate thing* It was the 
Kingdom viewed from this latter aspect that Bishop Guerry considered 
in his sermon — the Kingdom in the form of a regenerate Christian 
society, a holy city on earth whence sin was banished* 

"Bishop Guerry told of the marvellous growth of Christianity in 
the Roman Empire, quoting Tertullian's eloquent boast* Its growth 
was like that of the tree that comes from a mustard seed — a great thing 
springing from a very small one* Christianity from its earliest days 
did much to advance and purify civilization* Upon the Roman Em- 
pire itself its effect was tremendous* This was its proper work; for 
from the broadest and truest point of view the Kingdom of God is 
synonymous with progress, with advancement, with civilization car- 
ried on in the direction of man's mental and moral betterment* The 
final proof of God's power to save will be the establishment on earth 
of the City of God* To achieve this end the Church must enter into 
political and sociological struggles wherever there is a clear moral issue* 
"In applying all that he had said to the occasion that was being 
celebrated. Bishop Guerry called attention to the fact that on three 
sides of St* Michael's Church are buildings which stand for the 
powers that rule our society— the Postoffice, representing the Federal 
Government; the City Hall, representing the Municipal Government; 
and the County Court House, representing the State Government* All 
these, he said, are working, or are supposed to be, for the betterment 
of society, for the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth; but 
their work can be of no avail unless the Church across the way joins 
also in the fight and strikes and strikes again in the cause of the Holy 
City*" 

The rector's address, being to a great degree historical, was de- 
livered at the U o'clock service, and was as follows: 

"Dr* Kershaw took his text from Psalm lxxvii: 5* ^ 

" 'I have considered the days of old and the years that are past* 

He said: 


81 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

"" "Right reverend father in God, brethren of the clergy, members 
of St, Michael's and all others here present, I salute you in the name 
of the Lord, and in the name of our congregation bid you welcome on 
this our festal day to this venerable shrine now celebrating the one 
hundred and fiftieth anniversary of its opening for Divine worship. 
Not on the exact anniversary, according to the civil calendar, for the 
date of opening, according to that, was February \, but it is the same, 
according to the Church's calendar, that day having been the fourth 
Sunday after the Epiphany in the year of our Lord one thousand, 
seven hundred and sixty-one. The day was bright and crisp, the 
thermometer indicating at 7 o'clock in the morning 44 degrees Faren- 
heit, the barometer 30, U, and no wind. These particulars, furnished 
by a friend, who himself procured them from the Carolina Gazette of 
that date, enable us to realize what the day was like when first the 
Rev, Robert Cooper celebrated here Divine service. One of the 
Wardens of that time, in his family Bible, makes mention of the 
service and of his having attended it with his whole family, and says 
Mr, Cooper delivered an appropriate discourse to a crowded congre- 
gation, 

"""In our mind's eye we can see the elegant equipages as they 
rolled up to the front of the Church and discharged the ladies and 
gentlemen who occupied them, clothed in the delightfully picturesque 
costumes of the day. We may watch the stately and ceremonious 
greetings they exchanged with their friends as they alighted from their 
coaches, and their measured tread as, without haste, and with due 
reverence, they entered the several doors and took their seats, out- 
wardly calm, inwardly excited, no doubt, as they waited for the service 
to begin. Nowhere else in the New World could there have been found 
that day a congregation of men and women of greater distinction, higher 
culture or more exquisite manners. The service proceeded according 
to the ritual of the English Book of Common Prayer — the very book, 
perhaps, that was used by Mr, Cooper being still in our possession, 
and bearing date 1753, When the congregation was dismissed we 
can picture to ourselves the joyful interchanges of congratulation that 
took place, because that after so long waiting they were at last able to 
assemble and meet together in God's house, ""to render thanks for the 
great benefits they had received at His hands, to set forth His most 

82 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


worthy praise, to hear His most holy Word, and to ask those things 
that are requisite and necessary, as well for the body as the soul*'' 
And then the return to their homes, where, free from the clanging of 
trolley gongs and the raucous clamor of motor-car horns, they spent 
in becoming quiet the interval between the services, again betaking 
themselves, as many as could, to the evening service, and probably 
listening to a second sermon that was as long as that of the morning* 
I say this because in going through the old Vestry book, I find that 
it was not the people, but the parson who first asked to be let off from 
a second sermon, a request granted by the Vestry, seemingly with 
some degree of reluctance* You are not to conclude from this some- 
what extended reference to the first day's services held here, that you 
are to be condemned to listen to a recital as particular and detailed of 
all that has since occurred in our history* By request of the Vestry, 
I have prepared an imperfect outline at some length of that history, 
which shall be placed at their service to do with as they may deem 
expedient, but today I expect to give what appear to be the marked 
eras and events, in such measure as shall not seriously offend the 
present-day canons relating to sermon-lengths, prescribed in general by 
members of the average congregation* You are asked, then, to think 
of the first St* Philip's that stood on the present site of that Church, as 
having been the place where for years worshipped most of those who 
subsequently formed St* Michael's congregation* You are asked to 
think of Charles Town as growing so rapidly that by 1750 it became 
evident that there must be another parish formed and another church 
built* Once more you are asked to think that in 1751 an Act of the 
Provincial General Assembly authorized the founding of this Parish 
and the erection of this Church, which, began in 1752, was finished 
and occupied as a place of worship on Sunday, February 1, 1761, that 
being the fourth Sunday after the Epiphany* All except five of the 
pews in the Church were taken between December 1, 1760, and August, 
1761, showing the need of a second church in the growing community* 
“‘The congregation soon busied itself in procuring bells, clock, 
organ and font, and individuals gave a service of altar plate, Prayer 
Books, and Bible for desk and chancel, and a supply of linen for the 
Communion, with handsome coverings for the Communion table* 
Thus furnished, the Church set out on its mission of nurturing those 


83 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


already within the fold and bringing others into it* Already, no doubt, 
the mutterings of the storm that broke in 1776 were to be heard, but 
no echo of them seemed to reach the Church until the Rev* John Bull- 
man — ominous name! — then the assistant minister, in August, 1774, 
delivered a broadside from the pulpit, in which he dwelt with stinging 
force upon an unhappy temper then much in evidence, in conse- 
quence of which even “every silly clown and illiterate mechanic under- 
took to censure the conduct of his Prince or Governor, thereby foment- 
ing discord and discontent, ending in schism in the Church, and sedition 
and rebellion in the State*” The recoil of this broadside threw Mr* 
Bullman out of the assistant rectorship, and caused a great division in 
the congregation, some of whom presented him with a most com- 
plimentary letter and a considerable purse, on the eve of his departure 
for his native England* The next painful experience was encountered 
when, two years later. Dr* Cooper declined to take an oath that re- 
quired him to abjure his allegiance to the British Crown* This he 
could not do, for conscience sake, and resigned the rectorship, return- 
ing to England* During the progress of the Revolution, nothing is 
recorded that merits particular notice in regard to the Church, except 
that, as was the case eighty-five years later, while the enemy pressed 
ever closer to the doomed City, the people, so many as could, fled to 
places of safety until they might return in peace to their homes* 

44 'At last the long struggle was ended, and once again the people 
worshipped in their accustomed places* It was difficult for them to 
renew their normal life after so long and serious interruption, but with 
their wonted energy they proceeded to the task of rehabilitating the 
waste places and resuming the duties of peace* The Church was not 
forgotten in the presence of other obligations* Its work was resumed 
and for years it went on with growing earnestness* Its rector and 
laymen took large part in the deliberations that led to the formation of 
our American Church, and most of the early conventions of the Diocese 
met in St* Michael's* Under Drs* Jenkins, Bowen and Dehon, the 
Church flourished and developed* All three of these were elected to the 
Episcopate, though Dr* Jenkins, on account of advanced age, declined* 
The two others, while continuing rectors of this Church, also dis- 
charged the duties of the Episcopate, Bishop Dehon for five years, 
and Bishop Bowen for twenty-one* 


84 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

Sunday-Schools for white children and for the negroes, parochial 
schools also for the latter, were organized, the Church felt and respond- 
ed to the call for increased missionary interest then being sounded, 
and societies were formed, both of adults and children, to further this 
good cause at home and abroad. Some idea of the size of the congre- 
gation may be formed from the report of the year 1826, There were 
then three churches in the City, St, Philip's, St, Michael's, and St, 
Paul's, besides St, Stephen's Chapel, in Anson Street, the erection 
of which was due in large part to Bishop Bowen's interest and exertions. 
Yet at that time there were reported from St, Michael's 237 families 
and a whole number of souls nearly 1,200 — eighty odd families more 
than we now report, and more than double the number of souls. 
Bishop Dehon was first to administer confirmation in South Carolina, 
authorities differing as to the place and time he held his first confirma- 
tion service, one saying Trinity Church, Edisto, and the other affirm- 
ing it to have been St, Michael's, One interesting fact in this con- 
nection is that at the time we are speaking of, it seems to have been 
customary for the Bishop to hold confirmation at one Church in the 
City, the clergy all presenting their candidates together, (Journal, 
1830,) For this purpose the Churches were taken in rotation, 

“'Time passed, and other earnest men succeeded these Bishops 
in the rectorship. The country had recovered from the effects of the 
two wars in which it had been engaged. The community was pros- 
pering, Other churches, as St, Peter's, St, John's, and Grace, were 
building or had been built, yet St, Michael's, cherishing the example 
of the elders, evinced no disposition to narrow the circle of its good 
works. Rather, the congregation's benefactions were multiplied. It 
supported two ministers, but it also gave largely to objects outside. 
Churches, rectories and schools, far and near, received its benefactions. 
Orphans were cared for and educated. The sick and poor were vis- 
ited and ministered to by members of societies organized for that pur- 
pose, The interest in missions was stimulated by like societies inspired 
by tidings from Boone in China, and Miles in Constantinople, and 
Payne in Africa, Fonts, chancel furniture, communion silver, Bibles 
and Prayer Books were given here and there by the Church or indi- 
viduals, to weak and struggling parishes and missions in the Diocese, a 
custom, if I may so call it, that is still continued, I am glad to say, 

85 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

"" "And so the Church prospered until again the tocsin of war was 
sounded and those four years of fraticidal strife ensued* Yet not until 
late in 1863, when Morris Island had fallen, and the shells, many of 
them aimed at St* Michael's steeple, began their work of destruction, 
was the Church closed, and clergy and people fled the City* So soon 
as was practicable after the war was over, the Church seriously dam- 
aged, was restored, and the same devoted rector who had held the 
service on the day the Church was closed, returned to shepherd the 
remnants of his flock that had been sorely "scattered and peeled,' as 
the Prophet said of Israel long ago* Slowly, but with courageous 
faith and indomitable hope, the fragments were gathered, and the work 
of the Church again took shape* Violent political measures disturbed 
the already distressed people, struggling to recover from war's disasters* 
A period followed of unrest, anxiety and vehement resentment against 
injustice, hardly less trying than that of the war itself, but through 
it all St* Michael's stood as a witness for the enduring and eternal, 
the abiding and the true, for God and the Gospel of His dear Son* At 
length that tyranny was overpast, and life became more normal* 
Returning prosperity caused new activities to spring up within the 
Parish, and it again took its place among the working forces of the 
Church in South Carolina, so that when the present incumbent en- 
tered upon his duties he found everything ready for a forward move- 
ment* Thus it was that "other men labored,' and he has "entered 
into their labors*' They have gone, but their works do follow them* 
""Respice, Prospice l" 

"" "The clergy who have ministered here in holy things all those 
years, the men and women who have held up their hands and re- 
sponded to their appeals, who loved God and served Him faithfully, 
and taught their children so, certainly they, being dead, yet speak to 
us, by word and example, to be true, as they were true, to hold fast 
the faith as they held it fast, to love Him and serve Him as they 
loved and served, yes, so many of them, who lived in the faith of 
the Son of God, and found it sufficient in life's long day and in 
the hour of death* Bound to them by the tenderest and closest 
of ties, though they be sleeping in their narrow beds out there 
or in Magnolia, or even further away still, they are doubtless num- 
bered among that great cloud of witnesses that encompasses us, keep- 

86 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

mg us ever in their hearts and calling to us to lay aside every 
weight and the sin that doth so easily beset us, and to run with 
patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the 
author and finisher of our faith* What shall we do but follow this 
counsel of love? What can we do but try to be united once more 
with them in that serener clime? Except we shall live with these 
things in view, vain for us will this temple of God have stood through- 
out the generations, and we will have missed all that it represents of 
real significance, of eternal worth* There are structures in this City 
older than St* Michael's, but they were not erected to God nor dedi- 
cated to God's religion* They, too, have stood the test of time, and 
withstood storms, earthquakes and wars, but this holy place is the 
House of God, or else it is nothing more than those others, except for 
its beauty and stateliness* Let us love it for the message it speaks 
before and above all else, for the message except for which it never 
would have been built, and apart from which it has never been, nor 
shall be, aught but wood and stone, brick and mortar, built by art and 
man's device, not for God's glory in the saving of men, but for man's 
pride and glory in forgetfulness of God* Nay, rather let us apostro- 
phize it and say: O, venerable edifice that stood here and witnessed 
for God before ever South Carolina was a State, or the United States 
a nation; before the star of Napoleon's destiny had risen above the 
eastern horizon or the French Revolution come to awaken the world 
to the power of the people: that was here long before the first steam 
locomotive ran upon its iron rails or steamship ploughed the waves, 
or electric telegraph first flashed its message; that drew to thyself the 
fire of the foe in the Revolution, and again, unoffending but unafraid, 
was made the target of a thousand missiles in the War Between the 
States; that has witnessed the flowering and the destruction of an 
ancient and splendid civilization; whose white spire has for many de- 
cades guided the mariner to the haven where he would be; whose bells 
have for so long sweetly called the faithful to prayer, pealed forth tid- 
ings of joy, tolled the knell of the departed, and awakened with their 
sonorous reverberations the sleeping City when conflagration threat- 
ened; whose ancient clock has marked the flying hours for five genera- 
tions of that City's lifetime; may they who worship within thy walls, 
the hearts that love thee, the people who care for thee, value thee most 

87 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEl/s CHURCH 

of all for that which thou dost stand for, and the heavenly message 
that thou dost bring, that now and in the years to come they may in 
spirit and in truth lift up heart and voice, and say: 

44 4 O t King of Glory, come, and with Thy favor crown 
This temple as Thy home, this people as Thy own: 

Beneath this roof vouchsafe to shov 
That God doth dwell with man below/ ” 


88 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


ffl e m o r a b t U a 


S MATTERS of interest not incorporated in this sketch, but 
met with whilst gathering material for it, should be mentioned 
the fact that up to 1824, citations from the Courts of Ordinary 
in the Districts of Charleston and Georgetown, were read in the churches 
by the officiating clergy* An Act of the Legislature of that year au- 
thorized the publication of these citations in the newspapers of those 
and other Districts, in lieu of publishing them in Church* 

The chancel chairs were imported by the Vestry in 1817* 

Near the west walk is the grave of Charles Fraser, Artist, who 
died October 5, I860* 

The entire steeple sank eight inches as the result of the earth- 
quake, August 31, 1886* 

The City fire engine, certainly up to 1762, was kept in the church- 
yard, and fire buckets were kept there as late as 1821* 

Beneath the Vestry Room lie the remains of Major-General 
Charles Cotes worth Pinckney, of the Revolutionary War* 

Also near the south door lie the remains of James Parsons, once 
Vice-President of South Carolina, who died October 1, 1779* 

Under the shade of the great magnolia in the churchyard lie the 
remains of Robert Y* Hayne, James L* Petigru, and George S* Bryan* 
Near the Parish House rest the remains of Hon* John Lloyd, 
for several years Member and President of the Senate of South Caro- 
lina* 

In the Church yard, nearly opposite the south door, are the re- 
mains of John Rutledge, who died in 1800* “Sometime Dictator of 
South Carolina/' 

Near the south door lie the remains of Major-General Mordecai 
Gist, an officer of the Maryland line, in the Revolutionary War, who 
died September 12, 1792* 

Up to the year 1835, the “Clerk” was charged with the duty of 
leading the responses of the congregation* His place was immediately 

89 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

in front of the reading desk* His services were dispensed with in 
that year* 

It was for a long time the custom at St* Michael's and elsewhere 
for the Wardens and Vestrymen to stand at the several doors of the 
Church and receive in their hats the offerings of the people while 
going out after service* 

Because the Recorder of the City Court complained of the ring- 
ing of the Church bells on Prayer Days during the sitting of the Court, 
the Vestry in 1819 ordered the sexton to ring “only five minutes after 
10 o'clock and five minutes before eleven" during the session of any 
court* 

For a considerable period of time, the Wardens of the Church 
were accustomed to sit together in a pew set apart for their use, and in 
1771 Isaac Motte, Esqr*, presented to the Church a “couple of iron rods 
with gilt tops" for the Church Wardens' pew, “as a mark of distinc- 
tion from the rest*" 

The cemetery “for burial of colored persons," in Line Street, 
was purchased by the Vestry in 1845* It will be of interest to state 
that the body of the last surviving colored communicant of St* 
Michael's, Mildred Wigfall, was interred there in 1908, the present 
rector conducting the service* 

Against the west wall of the graveyard is the stone that marks 
the last resting place of Alexander Shirras, a Scotchman by birth, who 
after a residence here of thirty years, died, leaving an endowment for 
a free dispensary, which has been doing its good work for the greater 
part of this century, and is known as “Shirras Dispensary*" 

A Philharmonic Society existed in Charleston as early as 1810* 
This is established by the record in the old Vestry Book, page 383, of 
a request from that society to have the use of the Church “for an Ora- 
torio of sacred music," the proceeds to go to the “sufferers by the late 
fire*" This fire occurred October 9, and destroyed one hundred and 
ninety-four houses* (Year Book, 1880, page 302*) 

The Rev* William Percy, afterwards the first rector of St* Paul's 
Church, in this City, in 1810, was from 1805 to 1809 assistant minister 
in both St* Philip's and St* Michael's, rather an unique arrangement* 
He came to the City in 1773* Dalcho says, page 237: “When the war 
broke out, he took the popular side, and sometimes preached to the 


90 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

troops, and was the first who delivered an address on the anniversary 
of our Independence/' 

So early as 1814 the City Council passed an Ordinance re- 
lating to the official preservation of the name, age, birth-place, occu- 
pation, etc*, of all persons dying within the City limits and buried 
therein* The Vestry of St* Michael's, on the application of Thomas 
Rhett Smith, Intendant, directed their sexton to report to City 
Council all interments in this churchyard, together with the particulars 
required by the Ordinance* 

When the great cyclone of August 25, 1885, swept over this City, 
the weather vane and the large cypress ball surmounting the steeple 
were blown down* The ball, in falling, struck a flagstone in the 
pavement, fracturing it* The vane and ball were replaced* During 
a similar storm in August, 1911, the vane was bent either by the 
force of the wind itself or by being struck by some object flying “upon 
the wings of the wind*" Quite recently the vane has been straightened 
and the ball gilded* 

When, after the earthquake, the foundations of the Church were 
examined, an old coffin was discovered beneath the south stairway* 
On the lid were the initials J* O* B* and the date 1678 in brass tacks* 
Nothing whatever is known as to who J* O* B* was, but it is certain 
that the builders of St* Michael's knew of the existence of the grave, 
for the workmen who went down in 1886 “found it protected by an 
arch of round bricks*" This is believed to be the oldest known grave 
in the City or vicinity* 

It was during the repairing of the Church after the earthquake 
that an effort was made to find the corner-stone laid by Governor 
Glen in February, 1752, in the hope that with it would be found the 
receptacle commonly used on such occasions, and containing memo- 
randa of the event, the newspapers of the day, coins, and other like 
objects* At the southeast corner of the main structure a solid block 
of granite 18xl5xl0>4 inches was found, but with no inscription on 
it, much to the disappointment of all present* Mr* George S* Holmes, 
who was present, gives this testimony* See his “Sketch," page 5* 

The robing room for the clergy was, up to 1883, under the stair- 
way in the southern vestibule of the Church* After vesting, the 
clergyman proceeded up the south aisle until he came to the aisle 

91 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

running north and south near the east end of the Church* There, 
turning north, he passed through the rector's pew, adjacent to the 
pulpit steps, and through a narrow aperture by the pulpit, into the 
desk* The explanation is that the desk had no opening, as now, on 
the middle aisle* In 1883, however, the present Vestry-room was 
added* When the desk was made to open on the middle aisle is not 
recorded, but probably the change was made when the present desk 
was placed in 1893* 

The Wardens, at a Vestry meeting held May 28, 1770, stated 
that several young men made a practice of assembling under the 
piazza at the west door of the Church, and disturbed the congregation 
very much by walking backwards and forwards, trailing their walk- 
ing canes on the flags, and talking loud during Divine service on 
Sunday forenoons; that they are frequently obliged to go out and 
speak to them, either to go into the Church or go home, which they 
refuse to do, and treat the Wardens with contempt; therefore asked 
the opinion of the Vestry, what method they should take to prevent it 
in future — who thought the best way would be to summons such per- 
sons before a magistrate* 

In the original plan of the Church, a pew double the size of the 
ordinary pews was set aside for the use of the Governor of the Prov- 
ince* It was not until 1790 that the Vestry took over the pew formally, 
and ordered that it be rented* It is known that General George Wash- 
ington, on the occasion of his visit, with Mrs* Washington, to the 
City, occupied it during Divine service on the afternoon of Sunday, 
May 8, 1791* Seventy years later, the sexton, Mr* John Beesley, 
ushered into it a distinguished-looking officer of the Confederate army, 
at an afternoon service* The officer was General Robert E* Lee, then 
in command of the Department of South Carolina and Georgia* In 
1884 the Marquis of Lome, then Governor-General of Canada, and 
his wife, the Princess Louise, occupied it during their visit to the City* 

The large chandelier was ordered by the Vestry from London in 
1803* It is thus described in the Minutes of March 27: “A double 
lacquered brass chandelier, with three tiers of lights, the bottom row 
to contain 24 lights, the middle 12, and the upper six*" Whether 
the chandelier was in exact accord with these specifications or not, 
there is no way of determining, but at present, while the whole num- 


92 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

bcr of lights is the same, each tier has fourteen* Until April, 1879, 
the chandelier hung by a chain, so that ft could be lowered land 
raised after lighting the candles* At that date it was taken down and 
sent to New York, where the arms were recast so that gas might be 
used* The chandelier was altered to use electric lights in 1906* At 
the time of electrifying the chandelier, the chain by which it was orig- 
inally suspended, had seemingly disappeared for all time, and a new 
chain was procured for the purpose* But, afterwards, upon a more 
diligent search, the old chain was found, and used for the suspension 
of the chandelier in the vestibule* 

With the order for the chandelier went another for “three pairs 
of branches, for the pulpit, reading desk and organ loft* These 
came in due time and were used for many years, probably until gas 
was substituted for candles as an illuminant* They are still pre- 
served as relics of that early period* A well-carved wooden hand 
held the upright parts of the branches, from which extended jointed 
arms by which the position of the lights might be altered at will* 
Fraser, in his “Reminiscences,” tells how the Cincinnati Society, 
the Revolution Society, the Palmetto Society, and other patriotic or- 
ganizations of his day — after the Revolutionary War — were accus- 
tomed to have their annual orations, July 4, either in St* Michael's or 
St* Philip's* He says the Churches were “always crowded*” “The 
clergymen who officiated respectively had both been Revolutionary 
patriots, and wore the badge of the Cincinnati with their canonicals* 
It was interesting to behold the original members of the Cincinnati 
on those occasions, most of them dressed in their Revolutionary uni- 
forms* Among them were officers who had been with Washington 
at Trenton, at Valley Forge, Germantown, at Monmouth, and at 
Yorktown ; then there was the gallant Moultrie, surrounded by many 
of the officers who had been with him on the 28th of June, 1776, and 
also Col* Washington, distinguished at Guilford, Cowpens and Eutaw* 
There amongst this honored group were to be seen also those gentle- 
men whose handwriting had bound South Carolina to the compact 
of independence, for Governor Edward Rutledge and Judge Heyward 
were both then alive*” 


93 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

jWural tablets 

James O'Brien Parsons, 1755- 1 769* 

George Parsons, 1760-1778* 

Louis DeSaussure, 1745-1779* 

Rt* Rev* Theodore Dehon, D* D*, 1777-1817* 

Rev* Edward Jenkins, D* D*, 17 -1821* 

John S* Cogdell, 1778-1847* 

Mrs* Maria Cogdell, 1785-1858* 

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 1746-1825* 

Rev* Thomas John Young, 1803-1851* 

Rev* Frederick Dalcho, M* D*, 1770-1836* 

Rev* Paul Trapier Keith, 1801-1868* 

Sabina E* Huger, July 27th, 1799* 

John Julius Pringle, 1 — 1757-1843* 

Susanna, his wife, J — 1768-1831* 

Henry Deas, 1770-1846* 

William Read, M* D*, 1754-1845* 

Rt* Rev* Nathaniel Bowen, D* D*, 1779-1839* 

Rev* John Drayton Grimke, 1857-1895* 

3n tfje Vt&tibuk 

The Confederate Memorial* 

Mary Blacklock, died June 10th, 1850* 

Theodore Dehon Wagner, 1819-1880* 

Oliver Hering Middleton, Jr*, 1845-1864* 

Mary C* McKay Frost, died September 1st, 1911* 

Pierce Butler* 

Likenesses of a number of the rectors and assistant ministers are 
hung in the Vestry-room, viz*: 

1* — Rev* Henry Purcell, rector 1782-1802* 

2* — Rev* Nathaniel Bowen, rector 1802-1809, and 1818-1839* 
3* — Rev* Theodore Dehon, rector 1809-1817* 

4* — Rev* William Percy, assistant to St* Michael's and St* 
Philip's 1805-1809* 

5* — Rev* Frederick Dalcho, assistant minister 1819-1839* 

94 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


6* — Rev* W* W. Speer, assistant minister 1 8354 839 ; rector 
1839-1840* 

7* — Rev* Paul Trapier, rector 18404 846* 

8* — Rev* P* Trapier Keith, assistant 1840-1847; rector 1847- 
1868* 

9* — Rev* Richard S* Trapier, assistant 1868-1869; rector 1869- 
1894* 

10* — In Sunday-School — Rev* Thos* John Young, assistant min- 
ister 1847-1852* 


®2Harben$ anb trpmen of &>t. ffiitfyatVi, 1759 

Wardens: — Robert Pringle, David Deas* Vestry: — Benjamin 
Smith, Robt* Brewton, Wm* Roper, George Milligen, Charles Pinck- 
ney, John McQueen, David Deas* Smith would not serve, and Deas 
was Warden, so John Guerard and George Austin were elected Ves- 
trymen* 

®Harbens anb of g>t* JWtrfjaers, 1915 

Wardens: — G* D* Bryan, C* R* Valk* Vestrymen: — E* P* 
Ravenel, B* H* Rutledge, Edwin P* Frost, H* W* Conner, Alfred 
Huger, J* R* Young, Wm* H* Grimball* 


®f )t 2Belfoerp of tn jWtcfjaers Cfmrcf) 

(Taken from the first book of Minutes of the Vestry.) 


1st December, 1760, Delivered by Isaac Mazyck: — 


No. 

3 

To Ralph Izard* 

No. 

65 

To Sami Prioleau* 

44 

4 

44 Benj* Smith* 

44 

67 

44 

Ann Air* 

44 

14 

44 Thos* Elfe* 

44 

75 

44 

Benjamin Mazyck* 

44 

17 

44 Miles Brewton* 

44 

76 

44 

Frederick Grimke* 

44 

26 

44 Joseph Nicholson* 

44 

80 

44 

Thomas Rose* 

44 

27 

44 Richard Downes* 

44 

89 

44 

Samuel Cardy* 

44 

38 

44 Job Milner* 

44 

91 

44 

Thomas Basnett* 

44 

48 

44 John McCall* 

44 

92 

44 

Thos* Stone, Jr* 

44 

52 

“ Sarah Baker* 

44 

97 

44 

John Favors* 

44 

57 

44 Thomas Hutchin- 




* 


son* 


95 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 

Delivered by Benjamin Smith: — 

No* 21 To Isaac Mazyck* 


2d December, Delivered by Isaac Mazyck : — 


No* 5 To Edward Fenwicke 
(by Wm* Gibbs*) 

" 19 44 William Bull* 

Delivered by Benjamin Smith:- 

No* 6 To James Laurens* 

44 8 Wm* Burrows* 

44 9 44 Henry Peronneau* 

44 16 44 James Parsons* 

44 20 44 Othniel Beale* 

" 22 " Ann Waller* 

" 25 " Wm* Bampfield* 

44 36 44 John Savage* 


No* 29 To Robert Pringle* 

44 32 “ Luke Stonenburgh* 

44 72 “ John Hume* 


No. 49 

To Wm* Middleton* 
(by H* Middle- 
ton*) 

" 54 

u 

Wm* Henderson* 

" 60 

44 

Henry Middleton* 

" 61 

44 

Thomas Middleton. 

44 88 

44 

John Giles* 

" 18 

44 

Jacob Motte* 


Delivered by Robert Pringle: — 
No* 109 To John Stevenson* 


No* 23 To Thomas Farr, Jr* 

" 35 " William Branford* 

44 39 44 Sarah Tohnston (by 

J* McCall*) 

44 40 “ Peter Manigault* 

" 47 " Eliza Aiken (by B* 

Smith*) 

" 68 * William Gibbes* 

44 69 44 Robert Johnson* 

By Benjamin Smith: — 

No* 13 To William Stone (to 
Wm* Hopton*) 

44 55 44 Moreau Sarrazin 

(to Jona'n Sarra- 
zin*) 


To John Gibbes, Jr* 
(by William 
Gibbes*) 

44 84 44 Thomas Lamboll 

(by Thomas 
Lamboll, Jr ) 

" 12 " Hector B* de Beau- 

fain* 

" 100 " Thos* Lining* 


No* 87 To William Hopton* 

44 44 Cordes & Porcher (to 

P* Douxsaint*) 


8th December, Delivered by Isaac Mazyck: — 

No* 79 


96 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


9th December, by G* Manigault: — 


No. 33 

To Elinor Austin (to 

No. 68 


Geo* Austin*) 

“ 70 

“ 44 

44 George Austin* 

« 

" 62 

44 Thomas Shubrick* 


“ 64 

44 Daniel Ravenel, Jr*, 

“ 77 


and Alex* Ma- 

" 8t 


zyck* 

“ 82 

" 66 

44 Sarah HoUibush* 


15th December, by G* Manigault: — 

No 7 

To Henry Laurens* 

No. 94 

" 24 

44 Alex* Garden* 

" 98 

“ 37 

44 William Moultrie* 

" 107 

" 45 

44 William Blake* 


“ 74 

44 John Paul Grlmke* 

“ 110 

" 85 

44 Stephen Mazyck 



(to Peter Ma- 
zyck*) 


To Thomas Tucker* 

44 Susanna Crockatt* 
44 Ebenezer Simmons, 

Jr. 

44 Humphrey Somers* 
44 William Scott* 

44 Edw'd Lightwood* 


To William Hall* 

44 Robert Hardy* 

44 Daniel Blake (to 
Wrru Blake*) 

44 Mary Esther Hodg- 
son (to Wm* 
Hall*) 


16th December, by Isaac Mazyck: — 


No* 40 To Peter Leger* 

44 42 44 John Snelling* 

44 43 44 George McQueen 

(to Alex* Fyffe*) 
44 46 44 John McQueen (to 

Alex* Fyffe*) 

44 59 44 Ann Matthewes* 

44 73 44 Eliza Pinckney (to 

Harriet Pinck- 
ney*) 


No* 78 To Daniel Horry (to 
John Hume*) 

44 86 44 Wm* Parker* 

44 93 44 Rich'd Park Stobo 

(to Thos* Stone*) 
44 95 44 Fred'k Stroble '(to 

Hannah Stroble*) 


24th December, by G* Manigault:- 
No* 51 To Samuel Wainwright* 


30th December, by G* Manigault: — 


No* 15 To Stephen Bull (to 
O* Beale* 

44 30 44 George Inglis (to 

D* Deas*) 


No* 101 To Thomas Nightin- 
gale* 

44 102 44 Jeremiah Theus* 

44 103 44 Hopkin Price* 


97 


HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CHURCH 


No. 31 

To David Deas* 

No. 104 

To George Gardner* 

“ 53 

44 Thomas Farr (to 

" 105 

44 Peter Butler* 


Thos* Evance* 

" 106 

“ Leonard Boselle* 

" 56 

44 Bernard Beekman* 

“ 108 

44 Darby Pender- 

" 96 

44 James Reid* 


grass* 

“ 99 

44 Jacob Bohmer* 

" 111 

44 Elizabeth Hunt* 


February 28, J76J, Delivered by G* Manigault, Esqr*: — 

No* 50 To Thomas Drayton No* 63 To Thos Lynch* 

(to Wm* Dray- 
i ton*) 

August 5th, 1761, Delivered by Isaac Mazyck: — 

No* 34 To John Drayton* No* 83 To Robert Williams, 

in behalf for the use of Mar- 
garet Hartley, now Margaret 
Williams* 


“Yet have Thou respect unto the prayer of Thy servant, and to 
his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the 
prayer which Thy servant prayeth before Thee to-day: That Thine 
eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the 
place of which Thou hast said, My name shall be there*” 


R D-4& 4 


98 














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